# LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, # 

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| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,} 



1/ 



MEMORIALS 



OS 



METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY, 

FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE FIRST SOCIETY IN THE STATE IN 
1770, TO THE COMPLETION OF THE FIRST TWENTY 
YEARS OF ITS HISTORY. 

CONTAINING 



SKETCHES OF THE MINISTERIAL LABORERS, DIS- 
TINGUISHED LAYMEN, AND PROMINENT 
SOCIETIES OF THAT PERIOD. 



By Kev. JOHN ATKINSON", 

OP THE NEWARK ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 
SECOND EDITION. 

i u i 



PHILADELPHIA: 



PERKINPINE & HIGGINS. 

No. 56 NORTH FOURTH STREET. 
1860. 




Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1860, by 

PERKINPINE & HXGGINS, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of 
Pennsylvania. 

WILLIAM W. HARDING, STEREOTYPES.. C. SHERMAN & SON, PRINTERS. 



PREFACE. 



This work consists of such important facts and incidents 
connected with the rise and progress of Methodism in New 
Jersey, within the first twenty years of its history, as could be 
obtained at this late day, and of sketches of most of the min- 
isters who labored in the State during that period, and of 
several of the more prominent and influential laymen. I can- 
not claim to have gathered all, or even a considerable portion, 
of the facts illustrative of the work and of the laborers during 
those early years ; but I have attempted to do what could be 
done towards rescuing such as were still within reach, but 
which were rapidly passing down the current of time into ob- 
livion's unfathomable depths. The ministers of that period 
have all passed away, and with them have perished many im- 
portant reminiscences of their labors and of the early trials 
and triumphs of the Church. But very few of the laity who 
lived and prayed in those chivalric times yet finger behind 
their associates who have gone to heaven, and, consequently, 
the material for such a work was meagre. But I have gleaned 

from nearly every available source such facts as would tend to 

3 



4 



PREFACE. 



throw light upon those early years of our history, and I have 
succeeded in rescuing many which otherwise would, in all pro- 
bability, have soon been irrecoverably lost. I deeply regret 
that this effort was not made sooner. Had it been attempted 
twenty-five years ago, preachers who were prominent in the 
struggles of that day might have been consulted, and their re- 
collections would have greatly enriched such a work, and been 
of incalculable worth to the Church. But for this, alas ! it is 
now too late ; yet wisdom dictates that we should make haste 
to gather what still remains to remind us of the labors, sacri- 
fices, and successes of our fathers. The period immediately 
following that embraced in this volume is within the recollec- 
tion of some yet living, and no time should be lost in gather- 
ing such reminiscences from them as may be of service in a 
subsequent work, by whomsoever it may be prepared. Fifty 
years hence such data will be invaluable. 

As the period about which I have written is so remote, I 
have had to rely mainly upon printed documents for authority. 
The books and periodicals from which the larger portion of 
the material for this volume has been derived are, to a con- 
siderable extent, entirely beyond the reach of the general 
reader ; many of the more important of them having long 
been out of print, and could not be purchased for any price 
whatsoever. In addition to this I have gathered from original 
sources very important data, which have never appeared in 
print before. Such as it is, the work is sent forth with the 
humble hope and the ardent prayer that it may be an instru- 
ment of blessing to such as may read it. 

I am greatly indebted for important favors in the prepara- 
tion of the work to Rev. Drs. Whedon and Porter of Newark, 



PREFACE. 



5 



Ex. Gov. Fort, New Egypt, N. J., Revs. H. B. Beegle, F. A. 
Morrell, and G\ R. Snyder of the New Jersey Conference, 
Rev. Dr. Roberts, Baltimore, Rev. John Lee, West Bloomfield, 
N. J., Revs. E. W. Adams and J. P. Daily of the Newark 
Conference, and others. I would also gratefully acknowledge 
my obligations to Rev. S. H. Opdyke, A.M. for kindly ex- 
amining most of the work before it was stereotyped, and for 
valuable suggestions 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAQB 

Rise of Methodism in New Jersey. John Early—His son, the Rev. 
William Early — Capt. Thomas Webb of the British army— "Wesley's 
opinion of him — The elder Adams' testimony concerning him — His 
death, Dec. 20, 1796, aetat. 72— Joseph Toy— Rev. Mr. Asbury— His 
unwearied and successful labors — Mr. Toy removes to Maryland — 
His death, Jan. 28, 1826 25 



CHAPTER II. 

Progress of the work until the first Conference. Asbury at 
New Mills and Burlington — Foundation laid of a ^preaching house" 
— Benjamin Abbott — His remarkable dreams and conversion — Inter- 
view with a Presbyterian clergyman 50 



CHAPTER III. 

The first Conference. Asbury in Philadelphia— Conference held in 

Philadelphia in the summer of 1773 — Rules adopted by Conference — 

John King and William Walters — Philip Gatch — His conversion and 

earnest work — Conversion of Mrs. Abbott 65 

7 



8 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

PAGK 

The work in 1774 Conference held in Philadelphia, May 25, 1774— 
William Watters, the first native American Methodist preacher — His 
ministerial labors — Errors of Whitworth and Ebert — Persecution of 
Gatch— His death 82 



CHAPTER V. 

Dark days in the history of New Jersey Methodism. Conference 
of 1775 — Daniel Ruff — Freeborn G-arrettson — William Duke — Spirit- 
ual triumphs of Abbott — His dispute with a Presbyterian minister 
and elders — Conference held in Baltimore, May 21, 1776 — John 
Cooper — Sufferings of Jerseymen during the Revolutionary war — 
Conference held at Deer Creek, Harford Co., Md. — Return of all the 
English preachers, except Asbury, to England, 1778 — Persecution and 
Sufferings of Asbury— Conference held at Leesburg, Ya., May 19, 
1778 — Was Abbott a fanatic ? — Two Conferences ( Northern and 
Southern) held in 1779 — Northern Conference held in Kent Co., Del. 
— Case of Achsah Borden — Philip Cox — J oshua Dudley — Reflections. 97 



CHAPTER VI. 
Methodism in New Mills. First Church built in New Jersey at 
G-reenwich, Gloucester Co. — Third church, New Mills — Jacob Heis- 
er— -Governor Fort's remarks concerning him 142 

CHAPTER VII. 
James Sterling. Marries Miss Shaw — Is converted under Asbury — 
Embarks his all in the Revolution — His large benevolence — Dies 
Jan. 6, 1818, aetat. 75 152 



CHAPTER VIII. 
Dawning of brighter days. Conference meets in Baltimore, April 
2£, 1780— The connection of New Jersey with Philadelphia ceases — 



CONTENTS. 



9 



"William Gill — Opinion of Dr. Rush of Philadelphia in regard to 
him — His poverty — John James — Anecdote of Capt. Sears — Richard 
Garretson — George Mair — Pleasing love-feast at a Quarterly meeting 
— Speeches on that occasion — Letter of Uzal Ogden to George Mair.. 165 



CHAPTER IX. 

The work and laborers in 1781. Conference held at Choptank, Del., 
April 16, 1/81 — Xew Jersey divided into two circuits, West and East 
— Thomas Ware — He is converted under Mr. Pedicord — Interview 
with Bishop Asbury, who persuades him to enter upon the work — 
Caleb B. Pedicord — Execution of MoHiner — Pedicord's letter to 
Ware — His letter to a young lady — His death — Joseph Cromwell — His 
lamentable fall — James 0, Cromwell — Henry Metcalf 189 



CHAPTER X. 

Progress of the work in 1782. Conference held at Ellis's preaching 
house, Ya., April 17, 1782 — Society in Lower Penn's Xeck — Xarrow 
escape of Abbott — Anecdote of Catharine Casper — Case of Phiilis the 
slave 221 

CHAPTER XI. 

Methodism in Salem. First Methodist society formed there, 1782 — 
Benjamin Abbott, the most distinguished hero of Methodism in 
Salem Co. — Society at Quinton's Bridge — "First meeting-house in 
Salem, 17S4— Terrible death of an actress 232 



CHAPTER XII. 

Sketches of preachers. William Watters — Particulars of his con- 
version — Mr. Pillmore — Richard Ivy — John Tunnell — His excel- 
lence and gifts Joseph Everett — His resolute spirit — His conver- 
sion and zealous labors — His triumphant death 242 



10 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

PAGE 

Incidents and labors. Conference held at Ellis's preaching house, 
Va., May 6, 1783— Early Methodism in Atlantic Co. — Rev. Uzal 
Ogden of the Protestant Episcopal Church — His letter to Bishop As- 
bury — His work on "Revealed Religion." 282 



CHAPTER XIV. 
Methodism in Flanders. Mary Bell the first Methodist there — David 
Moore, leader of its first class — His death, Dec. 15, 1827 — Reminis- 
cences of Early Methodism in Flanders, by Rev. E. W. Adams — Old 
church substituted by a new one, 1857 294 



CHAPTER XV. 

Sketches of Preachers. Samuel Rowe — James Thomas — Francis 
Spry — William Ringold — Woolman Hickson — Ogden's letters to 
Hickson — Methodism introduced into Brooklyn, L. I., by Hickson — 
John Magary 303 



CHAPTER XVI. 
The ecclesiastical year 1784-5. Conference held at Ellis's preach- 
ing house, Va., April 30, 1784 — Flight of the Puritans from England 
to America, 1625 — Methodism now introduced into Elizabethtown, 
N. J. — Elias Crane— John Haggerty — Mr. Morrell — Organization of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church of America as an independent eccle- 
siastical body — Thomas Coke and Asbury first Bishops — The Christ- 
mas Conference — Samuel Dudley — William Phoebus — William Par- 
tridge — John Fidler — John Hagerty — Matthew Greentree 315 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Hestjlts and laborers. Three Conferences held in 1785 — Third 
Conference held in Baltimore, June 1 — John Walker — George Shad- 



CONTEXTS. 



11 



ford, first preacher in Mount Holly — " Old Drusy" — Eli Budd — An- 
ecdotes of Abbott — Society organized on Staten Island — Thomas S. 
Chew — Thomas Ware— Robert Sparks — Adam Cloud — Robert Cloud 
— John M'Claskey — Jacob Brush 340 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Prospects, results, and laborers. Membership of New Jersey in 
1786, 1259, the result of 15 years' labor — Appointments in 1786 — 
Rencounter of Mr. Cloud with a Baptist clergyman — The Hutchin- 
sons — Asbury's continued labors — Building of a Chapel at Lower 
Penn's Neck — CoL William M'Cullough — Asbury Church — Thomas 
Vasey — Robert Cann — John Simmons — Jacob Lurton — Ezekiel 
Cooper — Stevens's portraiture of him 358 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Labors axd Laborers, 1787. Bishop Asbury's incursions into New 
Jersey-— Thomas Foster — Thomas Morrell — Nathaniel B. Mills — 
Simon Pyle — Curnelius Cook t 379 



CHAPTER XX. 

The Ecclesiastical year 1788. Burlington, the first place in New 
Jersey in which Methodism was established — Church erected — Jesse 
Lee — His spirit in combating Calvinism — His doubts and distress — 
Enlisted in the cause by Bishop Asbury — Nearly elected a bishop in 
1800 — Boehni's description of his end — Aaron Hutchinson — His po- 
etic tendencies — John Lee — His remarkable death — Jethro Johnson 
— John Merrick — Two John Coopers 393 



12 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

PAGE 

The work and the laborers in 1789. Conference for New Jersey 
district held at Trenton, May 23, 1789— Mr. Whatcoat, afterwards 
bishop — Interesting anecdotes of Sylvester Hutchinson — His location 
— His death, Nov. 11, 1840 — His epitaph — Daniel Combs — William 
Jackson — Richard Swain — Testimony to his abundant labors, by his 
brethren^— End , 420 



MEMORIALS OF 



METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY 



CHAPTER I. 

EISE OF METHODISM IX NEW JERSEY. 

When the Wesleyan reformation began to spread over 
New Jersey, it was exceedingly small and feeble. A 
Methodist in those days, was a rare phenomenon. The 
first of this sect, of whom we have any information, was 
John Early, a native of Ireland, where he was born in 
the year 1738. He immigrated to this country in 1764, 
and settled in New Jersey. Somewhere between this 
period and 1770, as near as can be determined by the 
record,* he embraced tlfe doctrines of the Gospel as 
presented by Methodism ; but whether there was at that 
time any regular Methodist society in the province can- 
not be affirmed. However, he lived respected and use- 
ful in the communion of the church of his choice for 

* Christian Advocate and Journal, 1829, p. 160. 

25 



26 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

about sixty years, when he died at the advanced age of 
four score and ten. 

He resided in Gloucester county, and for forty years 
filled the offices of class leader and steward on the cir- 
cuit to which he belonged. He was a consistent Chris- 
tian, a faithful friend, an obliging neighbor, a kind 
husband, and a fond parent — devoted to the interests 
and welfare of those whom Providence had committed 
to his care. His long life of fidelity contributed much, 
doubtless, to the prosperity of the cause of Christ in the 
region where he lived; and in the history of Methodism 
in the State, his example appears like a lone star shining 
in a clear place in the heavens, and shedding its serene 
effulgence upon the darkness, clouds, and tempest of a 
dreary and fearful night. 

"While he was one of the first in New Jersey to iden- 
tify himself with the people called Methodists, he also 
gave, at an early and trying period in the history of the 
denomination, a son to the itinerant ministry of the 
Church. That son, the Rey. William Early, remem- 
bering his Creator in the days of his youth, entered upon 
the arduous life of an itinerant at the age of twenty-one. 
In 1791, by appointment of the New York Conference, 
he bore the cross into the wilds of Nova Scotia and New 
Brunswick. He prosecuted his mission there about two 
years, during which time he traveled extensively through 



RISE OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



27 



those provinces, encountering great difficulties, perform- 
ing severe labors, and suffering persecution for Christ's 
sake. He was arrested and imprisoned, but when re- 
leased he went on his way rejoicing in God, and preach- 
ing to the people the glorious Gospel of Christ. He 
traveled in New Brunswick in the winter on foot, bear- 
ing his saddle bags upon his back. When, in 1793, he 
left that region, he had become so reduced in his pecu- 
niary resources that he could not command enough 
means to pay his passage from St. Johns to Xew York, 
until he sold his saddle bags and a pair of shoes. Though 
in his father's house in Xew Jersey there was " bread 
enough and to spare," yet as a stranger in a strange 
land, whither he had gone to carry the bread of life to 
the perishing, in addition to his other trials he was sub- 
jected to the stern pressure of absolute poverty. 

He continued to labor within the bounds of the Phila- 
delphia Conference, part of the time as a located minis- 
ter, but chiefly in the itinerancy, until his death, which 
occurred on the first day of June 1821. He was the 
victim of pulmonary disease, and endured great affliction 
in his last days. Several of his brethren occasionally 
visited him, and generally found him happy in the love 
of his Saviour. In the full assurance of faith, rejoicing 
in hope of the glory hereafter to be revealed, he met 
death in triumph and departed in peace. He was a wor- 



28 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

thy son of New Jersey Methodism, whom she early gave 
to labor, suffer, and triumph in the missionary and itin- 
erant field. His works follow him, and his record is on 
high. 

But Methodism, in its ecclesiastical form, owes its origin 
in New Jersey, under God, to the labors of a local 
preacher, an officer in the British army, Captain Thomas 
Webb. The first Methodist society in the city of New 
York was formed in the latter part of the year 1766, by 
Philip Embury, a local preacher who had emigrated from 
Ireland about six years previously. The infant society 
was soon joined by the zealous captain, who was as 
brave a soldier of the cross as he was of his king. He 
soon proceeded to Philadelphia, and lifted the standard 
of Methodism in that city and formed the first class 
there in 1767 or 1768.* As New Jersey lies between 
these two cities, and its upper territory is close adjacent 
to the former, and its southern to the latter city, it is to 
be presumed that those earnest pioneers of Methodism 
would not long prosecute their mission without carrying 
their message of mercy to its inhabitants. 

Accordingly we find Captain Webb preaching justifi- 
cation by faith in the town of Burlington, New Jersey, 
as early as the year 1770. It is probable, indeed, 
that he preached in the province at a little earlier 

* Christian Advocate and Journal, 1829, p. 120. 



RISE OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



29 



period than this, but in that year he was stationed in 
Burlington on duty, and preached in the market house 
and in the court house.* On the 14th of December 
1770, he formed a small class, and appointed Joseph Toy, 
who will shortly receive more particular notice in our 
narrative, its leader. Mr. Toy is, probably, entitled to 
the honor of being the first class-leader in Xew Jersev. 
As Captain "Webb laid the foundation of Methodism in 
Xew Jersey, it is fitting that in tracing its progress to 
its subsequent commanding position and influence, the 
memorialist should pause to pay a respectful and grate- 
ful tribute to his character. 

He was a lieutenant under Gen. Wolfe at the capture 
of Quebec in 1759, where he received a wound in the 
arm, and lost his right eye. He was converted under 
the ministry of Rev. John Wesley, after enduring severe 
mental struggles in which he was led to almost despair 
of the divine mercy. This happy event occurred at 
Bath, England, about the year 1765. He joined the 
Methodist society, and soon commenced to exercise his 
gifts as a public speaker. " The congregation with which 
he was waiting being disappointed of their preacher, he 
was called upon to address them, which he did with such 
acceptance as soon to induct him into the office of a local 
preacher. Soon after this event he was appointed Bar- 

* Methodist Magazine, 1826, p. 438. 

2 



30 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM EST NEW JERSEY. 

rack-master in Albany, in the province of New York, 
whither he immediately removed with his family. Here, 
establishing 4 a church in his own house,' several of his 
neighbors desired permission to be present at his family 
worship, which was granted. To these he soon adopted 
the practice of addressing a word of exhortation ; and 
thus Albany became one of the first scenes for the dis- 
play of Wesley an zeal and devotion, although with no 
immediate results. Being in New York about this time, 
he heard of the little society under Mr. Embury, and in 
the true spirit of 6 a soldier of the cross,' he was not 
ashamed of the great difference between their social po- 
sition and his own, and sought them out."* 

One day, while they were engaged in worship in a 
room they had rented for that purpose, near the barracks, 
" the most infamous part of the city," they were sur- 
prised by the appearance of a dignified figure in the 
midst of them, in the uniform of a British officer. At 
first his presence caused them some alarm, but they soon 
observed that he knelt in prayer with them, and paid due 
regard to all the proprieties of the place and the occasion. 
He at once made himself known to them, and "this 
event constituted an era in their progress." 

He now opened his spiritual mission in New York, and 
boldly proclaimed the gospel to the people. " The nov- 

*Kev. S. W. Coggeshall in Methodist Quarterly Eevievv, Oct., 1855. 



KISE OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



31 



elty of a man in regimentals, with his sword and chapeau 
laid at his side, preaching the gospel of peace, immedi- 
ately attracted crowds to hear."* He united, in an emi- 
nent degree, the more noble characteristics of the sol- 
dier with the earnest zeal and heroic enthusiasm of the 
sect to which he belonged. He declared to his auditors 
" that all their knowledge and religion were not worth a 
rush, unless their sins were forgiven, and they had the 
witness of the Spirit with theirs that they were the child- 
ren of God." This " increased the surprise and amaze- 
ment of some, while others, more thoughtful and consid- 
erate, were led to seek this pearl of great price." He 
soon went forth into the regions beyond, proclaiming the 
word, and sowed the seed of Methodism on Long Island 
and elsewhere. 

It is not known with certainty how long, at this time, 
he remained in this country, but in 1772, Mr. Wesley, 
in a letter, speaks of him as being in Dublin, Ireland, 
and says, "He is a man of fire, and the power of God 
constantly accompanies his word." In 1773, he also speaks 
of his preaching at the Foundry Chapel in London, and 
says, "I admire the wisdom of God in still raising up 
various preachers, according to the various tastes of men. 
The captain is all life and fire ; therefore, though he is 
not deep or regular, yet many, who would not hear a 

*Rev. S. W. Coggeshall in Methodist Quarterly Review, Oct. 1855, 



32 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

better preacher, flock together to hear him. And many 
are convinced under his preaching, some justified, a few 
"built up in love." Ten years later he says, "Captain 
Webb " lately kindled a flame here," (in the neighbor- 
hood of Bath,) "and it is not yet gone out. Several 
persons were still rejoicing in God. I found his preach- 
ing in the street of Winchester had been blessed greatly. 
Many were more or less convinced of sin, and several 
had found peace with God. I never saw the house so 
crowded with serious and attentive hearers." In 1785, 
he bears similar testimony to his labors and usefulness. 

His labors were productive of great good in this 
country. An incident "connected with the very exist- 
ence" of Methodism in Schenectady, New York, may 
be properly mentioned here as an illustration of the 
effect produced by his ministry. " Conversing with an 
aged member of our church the other day," writes Rev. 
George Coles, in the Christian Advocate of February 
10, 1827, ■ • I had the curiosity to ask him when, where, 
and how he was first convinced of sin, &c. He informed 
me that a Mr. Van Patten, a blacksmith, was the means, 
in the hands of God, of opening his eyes. Do you 
know, said I, how the blacksmith was awakened? ' See- 
ing a black man die happy in the Lord,' said he. Do 
you know, said I, how the black man came by his serious 
impressions ? 6 His master was a religious man and 



RISE OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 33 

taught him the fear of the Lord.' And where did he 
[the master] meet with his conviction? said I. ' Hear- 
ing Captain Webb preach,' said he. It is also remarka- 
ble that this aged friend's mother was awakened under 
Captain Webb." 

In the year 1774, he was again, as we shall see, in 
New Jersey, and also in Philadelphia. During the ses- 
sion of the Continental Congress of this year, the elder 
Adams heard him preach, and bears a high tribute to his 
ability as a public speaker. The testimony of this emi- 
nent statesman ought, we think, to go far towards decid- 
ing the question concerning the rank his mental qualifi- 
cations entitled him to hold, as a preacher of the gospel. 
That testimony is as follows : "In the evening I went to 
the Methodist meeting and heard Mr. Webb, the old sol- 
dier, who first came to America in the character of a 
Quarter Master, under General Braddock. He is one 
of the most fluent, eloquent men I ever heard ; he 
reaches the imagination and touches the passions very 
well, and expresses himself with great propriety." 

Captain Webb possessed a clear and happy experience 
of Divine things; yet it is said " that he always took 
care to guard weak believers against casting away their 
confidence, because they could not always realize the 
same bright testimony of their justification by faith in 



34 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

Christ with which he had been so highly favored."* He 
was accustomed to relate his own Christian experience to 
illustrate and confirm the truths he proclaimed respect- 
ing experimental piety. 

The death of the old veteran is said to have occurred 
suddenly. " Having a presentiment of his approaching 
dissolution, a few days before. his death he expressed his 
wishes to a friend respecting the place and manner of his 
interment, adding, 4 1 should prefer a triumphant death ; 
but I may die suddenly. However, I know I am happy 
in the Lord and shall be with him, and that is sufficient/ 
A little after 10 o'clock on the 20th of December, 1796, 
after taking his supper and praying with his family ; he 
went to his bed in apparent good health ; but shortly af- 
ter his breathing became difficult ; he arose and sat at 
the foot of the bed ; but, while Mrs. Webb was standing 
by him, he fell back on the bed, and before any other 
person could be called, he sunk into the arms of death 
without any apparent pain, aged 72 years. "f 

Thus ended the labors and the life of the hero of the 
first battle of Methodism in New Jersey, and the founder 
of one of the most commanding and powerful ecclesias- 
tical structures in the State. His name and virtues de- 
serve a chief place in the registry of the cause upon its 

* Bang's History of the M. E. Church, Yol. 2. f Ibid. 



RISE OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 35 

historical records, and are worthy of being enshrined 
forever in the hearts of ISTew Jersey Methodists. 

Joseph Toy, who, as we have seen, was appointed 
leader of the first class in Burlington, was born in New 
Jersey, April 24, 1748. His father, who was a descend- 
ant of the first settlers of the province, died when he 
was a child. "When young, he was placed in the board- 
ing-school of Mr. Thomas Powell, in Burlington, where 
he remained until about the twentieth year of his age. 
"While there his mind was much impressed by a sermon 
delivered by a clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church, on the being and omnipresence of God. These 
impressions were lasting. Impelled to do something by 
which he might obtain deliverance from the wrath of his 
Maker, he strictly observed the claims of morality, ex- 
pecting by his works to render himself acceptable to 
God. He now heard the gospel from the lips of Captain 
Webb, in Burlington, and was offended at first at the 
doctrine which he preached. He was unwilling to re- 
linquish his self-righteousness, and be justified by faith 
alone. At length, deeply sensible that the justification 
of which he heard was necessary to his happiness, he 
sought it with all his heart, and after various painful ex- 
ercises, he obtained a sense of the Divine favor, and 
rejoiced therein with joy unspeakable. From this time 



36 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IX NEW JERSEY. 

he felt bound to devote his all to the service and glory 
of God, 

In a year or less from the time he was placed . in the 
charge of the class in Burlington, he removed to Tren- 
ton. He there found a man who had been a Methodist 
in Ireland. With this man and two or three more, he 
united, and agreeing among themselves, they met to- 
gether in class. Thus was formed in 1771 the first 
Methodist society in the city of Trenton, the most prom- 
inent member, perhaps, of which, was the result of Cap- 
tain Webb's ministry. 

In the meantime, the feeble band in Burlington was 
cared for. The first place in New Jersey in which it 
appears Asbury preached, was that town. He landed in 
Philadelphia from a port near Bristol, England, on the 
27th of October, 1771. On the 7th of November, he 
went to Burlington, on his way to New York, " and 
preached in the Court-house to a large, serious congrega- 
tion." He felt there, he says, his u heart much opened." 
He proceeded on his journey to New York, and met with 
one P. Van Pelt, who had heard him preach in Philadel- 
phia. Mr. Van Pelt resided on Staten Island, and in- 
vited him to his house, which invitation he accepted, and 
preached at his house, and in the evening at the house 
of one Justice Wright, where he had a large company to 
listen to the word. To Asbury therefore, is the honor 



RISE OF METHODISM IX NEW JERSEY. 37 



due of first sounding the trump of Methodism on that 
beautiful and fruitful Island. He remained labor- 
ing in New York and vicinity, until the 21st of Feb- 
ruary, 1772, when, " having a desire to see his friends 
on Staten Island, he set off, contrary to the persuasion 
of his friends in" the city. He was received and kindly 
entertained by Justice Wright and preached at Mr. Van 
Pelt's " to a few persons with much satisfaction." He 
was invited to preach in the house of one Mr. D., which 
he did, Justice Wright sending him " there on the Lord's 
day with several of his family." He preached twice at 
that gentleman's house to a large company. " Some," 
he says, " had not heard a sermon for half a year ; such 
a famine there is of the word in these parts, and a still 
greater one of the pure word." He returned to Justice 
Wright's in the evening, " and preached to a numerous 
congregation with comfort." He says, " Surely God 
sent me to these people at the first, and I trust he will 
continue to bless them, and pour out his Spirit upon 
them, and receive them at last to himself." He preached 
three times more on the Island, and then on his way to 
New York he took his stand at the Ferry, and preached 
" to a few people." 

After preaching in Amboy, in a large upper room to 
many hearers, in which he "was much favoured in his 
own soul," and receiving evidences of respect and kind- 



38 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

ness from an innkeeper there, he started on the 27th 
of February for Burlington. He rode a " rough-gaited 
horse," by whom he was "much shaken," and finding 
the road very bad, and himself and horse weary, he 
stopped, at the invitation of a Quaker, at or near Cross- 
wicks, on whom he called to inquire the way, and lodged 
in his house. He was treated with much kindness by 
his host, and the next day rode to Burlington, " very 
weary." The day following was the Sabbath, and he 
preached in the court-house to many hearers. 

The work was now extending. New Mill,* a small 
village several miles from Burlington, presented its 
claims upon his attention and labors, and accordingly 
he rode over in a wagon with some friends, and "preached 
in a Baptist meeting-house, and was kindly received." 
He remained until the next day, when, finding the peo- 
ple were divided among themselves, he preached from the 
words, " This is his commandment, that we should be- 
lieve on the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one 
another." He indulged hope that his labor was not in 
vain. He returned in the evening to Burlington. 

On Wednesday, the 29th of April, we again find him 
at Burlington ; where he "found the people very lively." 
"Two persons," he says, "have obtained justification 
under brother W. ; and a certain Dr. T 1, a man of 

* Afterwards called Pemberton. 



KISE OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



39 



dissipation, was touched under brother B.'s sermon last 
night. I admire the kindness of my friends to such a 
poor worm as I. 0 my God, remember them, remem- 
ber me." The next day he writes, " 1 humbly hope the 
word was blest to a large number of people who attended 
while I preached at the court-house." He departed to 
Philadelphia, but on Tuesday the 5th of May, he was 
again in Burlington. He preached to a serious people, 
but felt troubled in soul that he was not more devoted. 
"0 my God," he exclaims, "my soul groans and longs 
for this!" On the day following, he writes, " My heart 
was much humbled ; but the Lord enabled me to preach 
with power in my soul !" The next day he visited some 
prisoners, and one of them, who was to be tried for his 
life, seemed much affected. In the evening he preached 
" and felt," he says, "my heart much united to this 
people." The next morning he "set off for Philadel- 
phia," but in five days afterward, we again find him in 
New Jersey, in the neighborhood of Greenwich, where 
he speaks of preaching on "Behold I stand at the door 
and knock," and says, " Oh what a time of power was 
this to my own soul !" After this, he went to one Mr. 
T.'s, and many persons assembled at eight o'clock, to 
whom he preached with life. He speaks also of going 
"to the new Church," and after preaching with great 
assistance, lodged at I c J s, who conducted him 



40 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

in the morning to Gloucester, whence he went by water 
to Philadelphia. If this new Church belonged to the 
Methodists, it is probable that it was about the first which 
they erected in the province. 

Asbury was one of the first preachers that visited the 
little society at Trenton and preached to them. We 
find him there proclaiming his message on Wednesday, 
the 20th day of May, 1772; and he says, " As the 
court was sitting, I was obliged to preach in a school- 
house to but few people ; and as there were soldiers in 
the town, I could hardly procure lodging." The few 
Methodists who resided there at the time were not, it is 
probable, in circumstances to furnish very superior 
entertainment to the preachers. 

On Sunday, the 24th of May, Asbury was again in 
Greenwich, and preached to about three hundred people 
who had assembled from different parts. In the after- 
noon, at three o'clock, he preached at Gloucester, to 
about two hundred people, and then went up the river, 
in a boat, to Philadelphia, where he preached at night. 
The next day he was unwell, but went to Burlington, and 
though he was very sick, he preached in the evening. 
The following day he was still unwell; but, ever anxious 
to obey the call of duty, he visited a prisoner under sen- 
tence of death, and " strove much to fasten conviction 
on his heart." On Wednesday he went to New Mills, 



RISE OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



41 



where he preached at four o'clock, and again at ten the 
next morning. On Friday, he was at the execution, 
and preached under the jail-wall. He attended the 
prisoner to the place of execution. "When he came 
forth, he roared like a bull in a net. He looked on 
every side and shrieked for help." Asbury prayed with 
him and for him, but he says, " How difficult it is (if I 
may use the term) to drench a hardened sinner with 
religion !" He saw him "tied up," and then stepping 
on a wagon, he " warned the people to flee from the 
w T rath to come, and improve the day of their gracious 
visitation, no more grieving the Spirit of God, lest a day 
should come in which they might cry, and God refuse to 
hear them." He then returned to Philadelphia, where 
he exhorted in the evening. 

On Tuesday, the 2nd of June, Asbury is again in 
New Jersey, at Haddonfield. The next day he preached 
at five at Mantua Creek, and had a time of power. 
After the service was over, about a hundred people went 
to Mr. F.'s, one and a half miles off, where he also 
"preached with life." On Thursday he was at Green- 
wich, weak in body, but had some liberty in preaching 
to about two hundred willing people; "but at Glouces- 
ter," he says, "I preached only to a few dead souls, 
from this striking passage, ' The word preached did not 
profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that 



42 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



heard it.' " He observes that in this journey he was 
kept in peace, " and had more freedom, life, and power 
than ever he had experienced in the city." 

On Sunday, the 7th of June, he preached and held a 
love-feast in Philadelphia, and " some of our Jersey 
friends," he says, " spoke of the power of God with 
freedom." The next day he proceeded with much dis- 
agreeable company to Trenton, where many felt the Di- 
vine power accompanying the word preached. Two 
days afterwards, he returned to Philadelphia, after which 
he visited Bristol, Pennsylvania, and on returning, he 
soon proceeded to Burlington, and though weak and in- 
firm in body, he preached with liberty. He then bent 
his course for New Mills, groaning for more life, and 
desiring to reach greater attainments in holiness. After 
preaching there twice, he returned to Burlington, whence, 
after spending a sick night, he proceeded, quite unwell, 
to Philadelphia. A few days afterward he walked down 
to Gloucester Point, and then rode to a brother C.'s, and 
though very weak, weary, and wet, he preached with 
some degree of power, while it rained very hard, to 
many people from the text, " As the rain cometh down, 
and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, 
but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and 
bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the 
eater ; so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my 



RISE OF METHODISM IX NEW JERSEY. 



43 



mouth ; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall ac- 
complish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the 
thing whereto I sent it." At Greenwich, he met a Mr. 
S., who preached and baptized several people that seemed 
deeply affected. He went to Gloucester, and called on 
Esquire P., and presented him a petition for raising one 
hundred and fifty pounds to discharge the debt on the 
preaching house in Philadelphia. He promised both to 
contribute toward the object himself, and propose it to 
others. 

On Monday, the 29th of June, after a Sabbath "of 
sweet rest to his soul," in which the Lord gave him 
"power to speak with some affection," Asbury again 
left Philadelphia for Trenton. His conveyance was by 
Stage, in which there was " some loose and trifling com- 
pany." After preaching in the evening with some life and 
energy, he went the next day and preached in the field, 
and then returned, and enjoyed liberty, while he preached 
to many people in the court-house. On the following 
Wednesday, he " went over the ferry and preached to 
many people, among whom were some fine women who 
behaved with airs of great indifference." He then re- 
turned to Trenton and preached at night, and again the 
next morning at five, after which he i; set off for Phila- 
delphia." On his return, he again fell into " unprofit- 
able company," among whom he says, " I sat still as a 



44 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

man dumb, and as one in whose mouth there was no re- 
proof. They appeared so stupidly ignorant, sceptical, 
deistical, and atheistical, that I thought if there were no 
other hell, I should strive with all my might to shun 
that." 

He was again in Burlington on Saturday, the 4th of 
July. He went there to attend the execution of a mur- 
derer, " and declared to a great number of people under 
the jail wall, 6 He healeth the broken in heart !' The poor 
criminal appeared penitent, behaved with great solidity, 
and expressed a desire to leave the world." He then 
returned to Philadelphia, and delivered an exhortation 
that night, and after spending a peaceful Sabbath, de- 
parted again on Monday for Burlington. He remained 
there three days, labouring among the people, and 
" many," he says, " seemed much stirred up to seek the 
kingdom of God." He then returned to Philadelphia, 
where he remained a few days, and then went to New 
Jersey again, and preached near Mantua Creek,* at his 
friend, Mr. T.'s, and though it was the time of harvest, 
nearly one hundred people assembled; and while he dis- 
coursed on the words, " Ye were sometime in darkness, 
but now are ye light in the Lord," many felt the power 

* So I judge from the connection, and from collating this with 
other passages in the Journal. Sometimes there is indefiniteness in 
the Journals in regard to localities. 



KISE OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



45 



of the truth. He delivered another sermon the same 
day, and the next went to Greenwich, where he felt 
much "shut up" while preaching to about a hundred 
people, on "Fear not, little flock." He then went to 
Gloucester, which, he says, " is one of the dullest places 
I have seen in this country." The same night he went 
to Hadclonfield, and the next day preached " to a few 
attentive hearers, who , seemed much affected by the 
truths of God." One man especially, who had been 
much devoted to company and liquor, was much con- 
cerned on account of his past life ; but Asbury enter- 
tained fears that his impressions would not be permanent. 
The man, however, accompanied him to the ferry, whence 
he proceeded, on Friday, to Philadelphia, where he ar- 
rived " time enough for intercession, and found it a good 
time, both then and at the evening preaching." On the 
Sabbath, after preaching in the morning, he set out in 
the afternoon for Trenton, where he did not arrive until 
noon on Monday, but at night he proclaimed the word 
with a good degree of animation. 

During this short visit of two days, to Trenton, he 
met the society and gave them tickets. The society 
showed signs of growth, as it now, though in about the 
first year of its existence, had nineteen members in its 

communion. Mr. Asbury denominated them "a serious 
3 



46 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



people," and saw a prospect of much good being accom- 
plished there. 

Mr. Toy, to whom we may now properly revert, was 
still an efficient labourer with the little band in Trenton. 
They were supplied occasionally with preaching by 
Bishop Asbury, and the other preachers subsequently 
stationed in Philadelphia, until the storm of the Revolu- 
tion burst upon them, when the English preachers fled 
from the country, and they were left with none to break 
to them the bread of life. Notwithstanding, however, 
the greatness of their difficulties and the smallness of 
their number, they succeeded, by extraordinary exertion, 
in erecting a small frame house for Divine worship. In 
this humble temple Mr. Toy held weekly meetings, and 
the little society held on its way ; but in 1776, they were 
called to suffer an important loss in the removal of Mr. 
Toy and his family to Maryland. 

In his new home he manifested the same spirit of de- 
votion to God and Methodism which had previously 
characterized him. He opened his house for preaching, 
and became the leader of a class. In November, 1779, 
he removed, at the instance of Bishop Asbury, to Abing- 
don, subsequently the seat of Cokesbury College. Here 
he instituted prayer meetings, and read Mr. Wesley's 
sermons to the people, and became the leader of a small 
class which had been formed there. He was also the 



BISE OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 47 

instrument of building there a house of worship, which 
stood for many years, a monument of his devotion and 
zeal. In July 1787, the Conference was held in Abing- 
don, and as the facilities for entertaining the preachers 
were limited, Mr. Toy lodged twelve at his own house. 

Not far from this time he became an instructor in 
Cokesbury College. He was elected to this position on 
account of his knowledge of Mathematics and English 
Literature. About 1789 or 1790, he began to preach, 
and in October 1797, he was ordained a Deacon. In 
1801, he entered upon the privations and toils of an 
itinerant life, and was appointed to Baltimore circuit. 
He was subjected to discouragement in his work by being 
tempted to doubt his call to the ministry. He endured 
painful struggles of mind on this account, but finally ob- 
tained a complete victory over his subtle adversary. On 
one occasion, having preached several times with but lit- 
tle apparent effect, and having lost his horse, he attempted 
to walk a distance of five miles with his saddle-bags on 
his arm. The suggestion entered his mind that this had 
befallen him because he had undertaken a work to which 
God had not called him. He retired into the woods, op- 
pressed beyond measure, and wrestled in fervent prayer, 
with God, requesting an evidence of his call to the work 
if he were truly called. His prayer was heard, and that 
day several souls were awakened and converted to God. 



48 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IX NEW JERSEY. 

When the service was concluded, the man of the house 
informed him that his horse was found and lodged in his 
stable. From that day he never doubted his Divine vo- 
cation to the ministerial office. 

He continued to perform the work of an itinerant 
Methodist preacher for about seventeen years, during 
which time he showed himself a -workman that needed 
not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 
He travelled the following circuits respectively, namely, 
Calvert, 1802; Norfolk, 1803; Severn, 1804; Prince 
George's, 1805 ; Montgomery, 1806 ; Frederick, 1807 ; 
Severn, 1808; Great Falls, 1809-10; Calvert, 1811 ; 
Severn, 1812 ; Baltimore circuit, 1813 ; Great Falls, 
1814-15; Harford, 1816-17; Prince George's, 1818. 
In 1819, he passed into the honored, but unenviable 
company of his superannuated co-laborers, where he re- 
mained, preaching almost every Sabbath, and sometimes 
twice, never failing to fulfil his engagements, until 
December 1825. 

He fell at his post, with his armor on, and his hand 
clasping the Spirit's sword which he had wielded so sue- 
cessfully in many a fierce and trying conflict. He was 
conducted from the pulpit to his death bed, on which he 
declared his submission to the will of God. He testified 
that he had a Divine assurance of the peace and love of 
God, that he had trusted in Him for fifty-five years, and 



RISE OF METHODISM IX NEW JERSEY. 



49 



now rested his whole soul upon his promise. Thus be-- 
lieving and thus sustained, he tranquilly met the inevi- 
table hour, and passed serenely to his reward on high, 
on the evening of Saturday, the 28th of January, 1826. 

Mr. Toy possessed an intellect naturally strong, and 
a very retentive memory. In addition to the liberal 
academical advantages which he enjoyed in his youth at 
Burlington, his mind was stored by diligent attention to 
reading. He was deeply read in the works held in the 
highest estimation by the Church, and he especially de- 
lighted in the Holy Scriptures. These he studied with 
unwearied attention, and was thus prepared to bring 
forth out of the treasury, things both new and old. He 
was a first cousin to the late Bishop White, of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church, and was, says a Methodist 
authority,* one of the purest men and soundest preach- 
ers known to early Methodism. 

* Rev. William Hamilton, Baltimore, Md. 



50 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



CHAPTER II. 

PROGRESS OF THE WORK UNTIL THE FIRST CONFERENCE. 

After his visit to Trenton, Asburv returned to Phila- 
delphia, but was shortly in New Mills again, preaching 
the word both evening and morning. He found them a 
very affectionate people. He then went to Burlington, 
where he found many friends from Philadelphia, and 
they had at night a time of power. He departed the 
next morning for Amboy, which place he reached after 
a tedious journey through much rain and over bad roads. 
He took lodging at a tavern, as there was probably no 
other place for the entertainment of a Methodist 
preacher. He, however, was kept in peace in his jour- 
ney and felt great courage in the work of God. He 
preached to a small congregation at Amboy, but they did 
not appear to have much relish for the word, and he en- 
tertained but a small hope for the place. 

He again visited Staten Island, and preached to large 
congregations at Mr. Van Pelt's and Justice Wright's. 



PROGRESS UNTIL THE FIRST CONFERENCE. 



51 



He then proceeded to New York and labored to promote 
the interests of the work there and in the vicinity. During 
this time he visited Amboy again and dined with a mixed 
company of Assemblymen, Churchmen, and Quakers. 
With characteristic sincerity he proclaimed his message, 
and, though many of them went to hear him for sport, 
"they went away very still." On one occasion, when 
he went to Staten Island, Justice Wright met him and in- 
formed him that the court was holding its sessions and 
engrossed the attention of the people. He then pro- 
ceeded to the ferry, and lifted up his voice in behalf of 
the truth, while many people listened attentively to his 
Word. " Hitherto," he exclaims, " hath the Lord helped 
me!" 

On the nineteenth of October he started from New 
York in a stage across Jersey for Philadelphia. He was 
annoyed during the journey by the profanity of a young 
man, who was a fellow passenger. Asbury determined 
to reprove him when a suitable opportunity offered. At 
length he found such an opportunity, when none but 
himself and another person were left in the vehicle with 
him, when he told him how his conduct had grieved him. 
He received the admonition quite well, and excused him- 
self by saying he did not think what he was doing. He 
afterward appeared to exercise more care over his words. 
They stopped at New Brunswick to dine, and then pro- 



52 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



ceeded to Princeton, a place Mr. Asbury had long de- 
sired to see, on account of the pious Mr. Davies, who was 
the late president of the college there. He tarried there 
during the night, and the next day went to Trenton, but, 
on arriving there he found that a drunken sailor had 
locked up the court-house, so he was obliged to preach 
in a school-house, where he had a comfortable meeting. 
He also preached at five o'clock the next morning. The 
day following he went over the river and preached, and 
then returned and proclaimed the word in the evening at 
Trenton to an audience in which there were many 
young people. 

The following Sabbath was spent in Burlington, where 
he was much dejected in spirit, but felt greatly assisted 
in preaching, and the truth reached the hearts of the 
people. After preaching at five o'clock the next morn- 
ing he left for Philadelphia, where he again preached in 
the evening. 

After an absence of nearly six months, in which he 
traveled and labored in portions of Delaware and Mary- 
land, he again appears in New Jersey, where he preached 
at different points, and often to large congregations, from 
Saturday, the seventeenth, till Thursday, the twenty- 
second of April, 1773. Speaking of this visit, he says; 
" The Lord was frequently with us in mercy and power ; 
and my heart was greatly enlarged. How I long to be 



PROGRESS UNTIL THE FIRST CONFERENCE. 



53 



more holy — to live more with God and for God ! Trou- 
bles encompass me about ; but the Lord is my helper. 
Before my return to Philadelphia I had the pleasure of 
seeing the foundation laid of a new preaching house, 
thirty-five feet by thirty."* 

While Asbury w T as traveling to and fro preaching the 
word publicly, and performing as much labor of this kind 
as most clergymen, at the present day, would consider 
sufficient to tax the energies of nearly a half dozen 
men, he was not unmindful of the more personal work 
of a pastor. 

Hence, while on a tour " through the Jerseys" in May 
of this year, we find him speaking faithfully and closely 
to a certain man, who, he says, " has a great regard for 
us, but seems to be too much taken up with worldly 
cares." He showed him the deceitfulness of riches in 
producing a spirit of independence towards God, hard- 

* Though I have no data, by which to determine, with certainty, 
the location of this " preaching house," I think it highly probable 
it was Trenton. The society there must have commenced to build 
about this time, as they had their house erected and Mr. Toy held 
service in it some time before he removed to Maryland, which was in 
1776, three years after the foundation here mentioned w T as laid. This 
opinion is strengthened by the fact that Asbury frequently preached 
in Trenton, and it is not improbable, therefore, that he was there on 
that occasion. See p. 46. 



54 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



ness of heart, and pride in its various forms, while they 
promise safety and happiness. 

The Methodist preachers of that early day, though 
having authority from the Great Head of the Church, 
in virtue of their Divine call, to perform all the offices of 
the ministry, and consequently to administer the Sacra- 
ments, had not received Episcopal ordination, and it was 
not considered proper, therefore, for them to perform 
this part of religious service. Hence, the preachers 
themselves, as well as their people, were accustomed to 
go to the Episcopal Churches to receive the Sacrament 
of the Lord's Supper, which was sometimes administered 
by unholy hands. One of the rules for the government 
of the connection, agreed to by all the preachers present 
at the first Conference, in 1773, was, that " all the peo- 
ple, among whom we labor, are to be earnestly exhorted 
to attend the Church and receive the ordinances there/'* 
Accordingly, on Sabbath afternoon, the sixth of June, 
after preaching in the morning at Burlington, Mr. As- 
bury went to Church in order to receive the Sacrament. 
" The parson," he says, "gave us a strange discourse, 
full of inconsistency and raillery. Leaving him to answer 
for his own conduct, I took no further notice of it, but 
preached that night from these words, 6 The natural man 

* Sketch of Rev. Philip Gatch, by Hon. John McLean, LL, D. 
Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. 



PROGRESS UNTIL THE FIRST CONFERENCE. 55 



receiveth not the tilings of the Spirit of God, &c.,' and 
showed, First, what the things of God are. Secondly, de- 
scribed the natural man. And. Thirdly, showed how they 
appear to be foolishness to him; and that he cannot know 
them by the strength of his natural or acquired abili- 
ties." The little society in Burlington, he continues, 
appears to be in a comfortable and prosperous state. 
He proceeded to Trenton, where many people assembled 
to hear him preach, though but a short notice had been 
given of the service. During this visit to Trenton he 
writes, " My soul has been much assaulted lately by 
Satan; but, by the grace of God, it is filled with Divine 
peace. My heart thirsteth for God, even for the living 
God. I wrote to Mr. Wesley to day, and in the evening 
addressed my discourse, chiefly, to the young people. 
May the Lord apply it to their hearts." 

We have thus traced, with some degree of particu- 
larity, at the risk of wearying the reader with the same- 
ness of the narrative, the movements of Mr. Asbury in 
the State from the time he first preached within its limits 
till the session of the first Conference held in America. 
We have done this because these records are essential 
to our narrative, and because they cast light moon the 
infant Methodism of the province, which is furnished 
from no other source. In these brief memorials which 



56 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

Asbury has bequeathed us, we catch just and reliable, if 
not dazzling, glimpses of the early struggles and pro- 
gress of the cause. 

That most remarkable man, Benjamin Abbott, joined 
the society this year. He was converted the twelfth of 
October of the previous year. He was a very wicked 
man until about the fortieth year of his age, being ad- 
dicted to drinking, fighting, swearing, gambling, and 
kindred vices, yet he was industrious and provided well 
for his household. Sometimes, during his life of sin, he 
was troubled on account of the peril to which he felt his 
follies exposed him, but his religious concern was of 
short continuance, and he would rush as greedily as before 
into sinful employments and indulgences. Sometimes 
his outraged conscience would be terribly alarmed by 
awful dreams, which had the effect of producing promises 
of amendment, but, though he would reform his outward 
conduct for a season, his vows were as often broken as 
made, until he w r as brought under pungent and powerful 
conviction by a sermon preached by a Methodist. His 
wife was a serious and praying woman, and a member 
of the Presbyterian Church, which he sometimes at- 
tended, and in the doctrines of which he had been reared; 
but, though a professor of religion, she did not possess 
any very just notions of experimental godliness. 

One Sabbath her minister was sick, and, being inclined 



PROGRESS UNTIL THE FIRST CONFERENCE. 57 



to attend religious service, she asked permission of her 
husband to go to a Methodist meeting, which she heard 
was to be held about ten or twelve miles distant. He 
consented to her request, and, in company with her eld- 
est son and daughter, she went to the meeting. When 
she returned he asked her how she liked the preacher. 
She replied that " he was as great a preacher as ever she 
had heard in all her life," and persuaded him to go and 
hear for himself. The next Sabbath he went. The 
preacher took for his text, " Come unto me all ye that 
labor and are heavy laden, and I will rive you rest." 
He was much engaged, and the people were greatly af- 
fected. This was surprising to Abbott, as he had never 
seen the like before. The sermon, however, made no 
impression upon his mind until, in making his applica- 
tion, the preacher said, " It may be that some of you 
may think that there is neither God nor devil, heaven 
nor hell, only a guilty conscience ; and, indeed, my 
friends, that is bad enough. But I assure you that 
there is both heaven and hell, God and devil." He 
proceeded to argue that fire was contained in everything, 
and that there was a hell dreadful beyond comprehen- 
sion, and urged the people to fly to Christ for refuge. 
He showed the reality of the existence of God by a 
beautiful illustration of his works, and called upon the 



58 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

people to come unto Him for Christ had died for their re- 
demption. 

The service being over, two dreams, which he had 
dreamed about seven years before, one of which related 
to hell and the other to heaven, rose vividly before his 
mind. He thought of his misspent life, " and in a mo- 
ment," he says, u all my sins that I ever had committed 
were brought to my view ; I saw it was the mercy of 
God that I was out of hell, and promised to amend my 
life." He went home distressed in spirit, and oppressed 
with aw T ful thoughts concerning a future life. His con- 
victions increased, and for several days he suffered se- 
vere and almost insupportable mental agony. The doc- 
trine of election troubled him, and he feared he w T as a 
reprobate, doomed to suffer forever the wrath of God. 
In this state of mind he was tempted to commit suicide, 
and even w r ent so far as to take the first steps towards 
the commission of the awful deed, when it occurred to 
his mind, as if uttered by a voice, " This punishment is 
nothing to hell;" this restrained him and he continued 
to seek for mercy. On one occasion he went to hear the 
preacher, w T ho was the means of awakening him. He 
had an interview with him before the services com- 
menced, and told him the state of his mind, and desired 
to be baptized, hoping, by that means to gain relief. 
The preacher asked him if he was a Quaker. He re- 



PROGRESS UNTIL THE FIRST CONFERENCE. 59 



plied he was not, only a poor, wretched, condemned sin- 
ner. He then exhorted him to believe in Christ for sal- 
vation ; and, in reply to his misgivings concerning the 
willingness of God to save so great a sinner as he felt 
himself to be, he assured him that he was the very 
man Christ died for, else he would not have awakened 
him ; that he came to seek the lost and to save the great- 
est of sinners, and applied to his case the promises of 
Scripture. They went to the house, where the meeting 
was to be held, but Abbott remained outside, as he was 
afraid to go in lest he should cry out as he had done at 
a meeting a day or two previous, and thus expose him- 
self to ridicule. The preacher, in his prayer, especially 
dwelt upon the case of "the poor, broken-hearted sin- 
ner." He says, " His cries to God, on this occasion, ran 
through my heart like darts and daggers ; after meeting 
I returned and prayed in my family, and ever after con- 
tinued that duty. That night I lay alone, expecting to 
sleep but little, but to pray and weep all night ; when- 
ever I fell into a slumber, it appeared to me that I saw 
hell opened ready to receive me, and I just on the point 
of dropping in, and devils waiting to seize me. Being 
thus alarmed, it would arouse me up, crying to the Lord 
to save me; and thus I passed the whole night in this 
terrified unhappy condition. Just at the dawning of the 
day 1 fell into a dose more like sleep than any I had 



60 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IX NEW JERSEY. 

during the whole night, in which I dreamed that I saw a 
river as clear as crystal, in the midst of which appeared 
a rock with a child sitting upon it, and a multitude of 
people on the shore, who said the child would be lost. 
I then saw a small man on the bank of the river, whose 
hair was very black, and he and I wrestled together. I 
heard the people cry out, The child is lost ; and, looking 
round, I saw it floating down the river ; and, when it 
came opposite where we were, it threw up its wings, and 
I saw it was an angel. The man, with whom I wrestled, 
told me there was a sorrel or red horse chained head and 
hind foot in the river, and bade me go down and loose 
him. The people parted to the right and left, forming a 
lane for me to pass through ; I immediately hastened to 
the river and went in, the water running over my head, 
and, without receiving any kind of injury, I loosed the 
horse and immediately I sprang out of the water like a 
cork, or the bouncing of a ball ; and, at that instant, I 
awoke, and saw, by faith, the Lord Jesus Christ stand- 
ing by me with his arms extended wide, saying to me, 
4 1 died for you.' I then looked up, and, by faith, I saw 
the Ancient of Days, and he said to me, 6 I freely for- 
give thee for what Christ has done/ At this I burst 
into a flood of tears ; and, with joy in my heart, cried 
and praised God. * * * The Scriptures were won- 
derfully opened to my understanding. I was now ena- 



PROGRESS UNTIL THE FIRST CONFERENCE. 61 



bled to interpret the dream, or vision, to my own satis- 
faction, viz : — The river, which I saw, represented to me 
the river of life proceeding from the throne of God, 
spoken of by the Psalmist, xlvi. 4, and also in Rev. 
xxii. 1. The numerous company on the shores repre- 
sented the angels of God, standing to rejoice at my con- 
version, according to Luke xv. 6, 7. The sorrel or red 
horse, I thought, was my own spirit or mind, fettered 
with the cords of unbelief or the chains of the devil. 
The color represented the carnal mind, or nature of Sa- 
tan, which was stamped upon me; and thus 1 was plunged 
into the river, where the cords of unbelief were immedi- 
ately loosed by faith, and my captive soul set at liberty ; and 
my bouncing out was the representation of the lightness of 
my heart, which sprang up to God, upon my instantane- 
ous change from nature to grace. The man, at whose 
command I was loosed, was Christ ; thus I was set at 
liberty from the chains of bondage and enmity of the 
carnal mind." 

No sooner did he receive the assurance of pardon 
than he began to labor for God. He arose and called 
up his family, and read and expounded to them a por- 
tion of Scripture, exhorted them, sung, and prayed, and 
says, "If I had had a congregation, I could have 

preached." After breakfast he told his wife he must go 
4 



62 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

and tell the neighbors what the Lord had done for his 
soul. 

He first went to the house of a Baptist ; and, as he 
and his wife were professors of religion, he supposed 
they would understand the nature of the change he had 
experienced and rejoice with him ; " but, to my great sur- 
prise," he says, " when I related my experience and told 
what God had done for my soul, it appeared as strange to 
them as if I had claimed possession of Old England, and 
called it ail my own." He then proceeded to a mill, where 
he thought he would see a number of people, and have an 
opportunity to exhort them, and tell them what a bless- 
ing he had obtained. On his way he exhorted all he 
met with to turn to God ; and, on reaching the mill, he 
told his experience to the people and urged them to flee 
from the wrath to come, while u some laughed, and 
others cried, and some thought" his reason had departed. 
"Before night," he says, "a report was spread all 
through the neighborhood that I was raving mad." 
"When he returned home he asked his wife about her 
conviction and conversion, expecting that, as she was a 
professor of religion, she was acquainted with the mys- 
teries of the new birth, but he was mistaken. She was 
led by domestic affliction, a few years after her marriage, 
to covenant with God to be more religious, and became 
a praying woman, and united with the Church, but re- 



PROGRESS UNTIL THE FIRST CONFERENCE. 63 



mained destitute of the power of godliness. He told 
her she had no religion, and was nothing more than a 
strict Pharisee. This displeased her, and the next day- 
she went to seek advice from her minister, who coun- 
seled her to not regard what her husband said, for he 
expected to be saved by his works. She returned better 
satisfied in mind, and took a book from the minister for 
him to read. It was Bellamey's New Divinity, in which 
he insisted on conversion before conviction, and faith be- 
fore repentance. He read the book about half through, 
and finding the author to be a rigid Calvinist, he threw it 
aside, "determined," he says, "to read no more in it, 
as my own experience clearly proved to me that the doc- 
trines it contained were false." 

The minister sent for Abbott to visit him, which he 
did ; and, after dinner, he requested the family to with- 
draw from the dining room, when he informed him that 
he had learned that God had done great things for him. 
Abbott then related to him an account of his conviction 
and conversion, to which he paid strict attention until he 
had finished, when he told him he was under strong de- 
lusions of the devil. He handed him a book to read, 
which he felt he ought not to take, however he resisted 
the impression and took it. On his way home he was 
tempted to doubt, and called to mind his various sins, 
but none of them condemned him. He then recurred 



64 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

to a particular sin which he concluded would condemn 
him; "but in a moment," he says, " I felt an evidence 
that that sin was forgiven as though separate from all 
the rest that ever I had committed ; but, recollecting the 
minister had told me ' I was under strong delusions of 
the devil/ it was suggested to my mind, it may be he is 
right. I went a little out of the road, and kneeled 
down and prayed to God if I was deceived to undeceive 
me, and the Lord said to me, 6 Why do you doubt ? Is 
not Christ all sufficient ? Is he not able ? Have you 
not felt his blood applied V I then sprang upon my 
feet and cried out, Not all the devils in hell, nor all the 
Predestinarians on earth should make me doubt ; for I 
knew I was converted. At that instant I was filled with 
unspeakable raptures of joy." 

He pursued his way, leaving it luminous with the light 
of his holy example, steadfast to the end. He was a 
true hero, facing mobs and enduring reproach, but never 
daunted in the work of God. For several years, as a 
local preacher, he abounded in evangelical labors in 
West Jersey and elsewhere, and was one of the most 
powerful and successful instruments employed in spread- 
ing Methodism in the southern section of the State. 
He will appear again and again, a valiant actor in some 
of the most heroic scenes of our narrative. 



THE FIRST CONFERENCE. 



65 



CHAPTER III. 

THE FIRST CONFERENCE. . 

Asbury had now been in the country a little over 
twenty months, and had traveled and labored exten- 
sively in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. 
In the latter province especially, he had borne the lamp 
of truth into many a dark and neglected neighborhood, 
and through his labors, the work of reform was spread- 
ing, the feeble societies were waxing stronger and 
stronger, and the few faint streaks of light, which had 
been gilding the horizon for more than two years, were 
increasing in number and in power, and had already 
wreathed themselves into a bow of promise, which cast 
a cheering and grateful radiance over the otherwise por- 
tentous future. 

When Asbury first arrived at Philadelphia, the entire 
membership, in that city, did not exceed thirty-eight.* 

* So says Rev. Thomas Sargeant in the Christian Advocate, 1829, 
p. 120 ; but Asbury in his Journal, Yol. III. p. 121, says, " In 1771, 
[ which was the year of his arrival,] there were about 300 Metho- 



66 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

It is not probable that at that time the number in New 
Jersey was much greater, if, indeed, it was as great ; 
but at the Conference, which sat in Philadelphia, m the 
summer of 1773, Philadelphia reported 180 members 
and New Jersey 200. 

Nothing of very great importance occurred at this 
Conference, except the adoption of certain rules for the 
government of the connection, the stationing of the 
preachers, and the debates in relation to the conduct of 
some of the preachers, "who had manifested a desire to 
abide in the cities and live like gentlemen." It was also 
discovered that money had been wasted, improper lead- 
ers appointed, and many of the rules broken. The rules 
adopted by the Conference were the following : 

dists in New York, 250 in Philadelphia, and a few in New Jersey. " 
In 1773, according to the minutes, there were only 180 in Philadel- 
phia. Here is a discrepancy between the authorities, either of which, 
in ordinary cases, would be regarded as perfectly reliable. If there 
were 250 in 1771, as Asbury says, how is the decrease of 70 in less 
than two years to be accounted for ? But, if, as Mr. Sargeant affirms, 
there were only about 38 in 1771, we can account for the increase of 
142 members in less than two years upon the principles of Methodist 
progression. It should be remembered that until 1775, New Jersey 
suffered no decrease from the Revolutionary excitement, but made 
steady progress in numbers, and at the Conference of 1775, Philadel- 
phia reported 190 members, which was an increase of ten on the 
number reported in 1773. 



THE FIRST CONFERENCE. 



67 



1. The old Methodist doctrine and discipline shall be 
enforced and maintained amongst all our societies in 
America. 

2. Any preacher who acts otherwise cannot be re- 
tained amongst us as a fellow laborer in the vineyard. 

3. No preacher in our connection shall be permitted to 
administer the ordinances at this time, except Mr. S., 
and he under the particular direction of the assistant. 

4. No person shall be admitted more than once or 
twice to our love feasts and society meetings, without be- 
coming a member. 

5. No preacher shall be permitted to reprint our 
books, without the approbation of Mr. Wesley, and the 
consent of his brethren. And that R. W. shall be al- 
lowed to sell what he has, but reprint no more. 

6. Every assistant is to send an account of the work 
of God in his circuit to the general assistant. 

There were now ten traveling preachers in the whole 
American connection, and 1160 members. These were 
included in the provinces of New Jersey, Maryland, and 
Virginia, and in New York, and Philadelphia. Beyond 
these limits Methodism in this country had not pushed 
its conquests. 

John King and William Watters were appointed 
by the Conference to labor in New Jersey, which consti- 
tuted one circuit. It is not probable that the preachers 



68 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

traveled regularly over the whole province, but rather 
bestowed their labors upon those points which promised 
the best results, and in nurturing and building up the few 
societies which had already been formed. As the way 
opened and the work spread, they extended the area of 
their toils. 

At that day, the fact that a preacher was appointed at 
the Conference to a given field is not a certain proof 
that he labored there. Changes were more frequent 
than Conferences, and thev sought to accommodate the 
exigencies of the work without much reference to the 
preferences or convenience of the laborers. Hence, 
though Watters was appointed this year to New Jersey, 
it does not appear that he labored there. In a short 
account of his ministerial labors, written by himself, Mr. 
Watters says that, in October 1772, he accompanied Mr. 
Williams, a local preacher, to Virginia, and that he re- 
mained there eleven months, and in the following No- 
vember took an appointment on Kent circuit, Delaware. 
As he was in Virginia until the fall of 1773, and then 
went to Kent circuit, it is not probable that he was in 
New Jersey at all during this year. In the fall of this 
year Philip Gatch was sent to labor in New Jersey. 
Gratch was a native of Maryland, and was sent by Mr. 
Rankin to this field of labor. In Philadelphia he met 
Mr. King, with whom he crossed into New Jersey. 



THE FIRST CONFERENCE. 



69 



King preached and held a love feast, and, " on the fol- 
lowing morning," says Gatch, "he pursued his journey, 
leaving me a ' stranger in a strange land.' " It thus ap- 
pears that King was in the province and preached dur- 
ing the year, but how much labor he performed there it 
is impossible now to tell. 

Mr. King was an Englishman, and came to this coun- 
try in the latter part of 1769. Soon after his arrival 
he waited upon Mr. Pillmore, ( who and Richard Board- 
man were the first preachers sent by Mr. Wesley to this 
country, where they arrived, landing at Gloucester Point, 
New Jersey, the 24th of October, 1769,) and desired 
permission to labor in a public capacity, in the society 
in Philadelphia. Pillmore, not being satisfied with re- 
gard to his qualifications, declined giving him authority; 
but so intent was he on proclaiming the doctrines of free 
grace to the multitudes there, that he appointed a meet- 
ing, on his own responsibility, in the Potter's field. His 
sermon produced so good an impression, that some of 
the members of the society, who heard him, desired Mr. 
Pillmore to encourage him to go forward in the work. 
" After examination he was permitted to preach a trial 
sermon; and, as he appeared to be a young man of 
piety and zeal, and much engaged for God, he received 
permission from Pillmore to go down to Wilmington, 
Delaware, where Methodism had already been intro- 



70 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

duced, and to exhort among a few awakened persons, 
who were earnestly seeking the Lord."* 

He was the first Methodist preacher that publicly pro- 
claimed the gospel in the city of Baltimore. It was in 
the year 1770. He mounted a blacksmith's block, at 
the intersection of Front street and the great eastern 
road, and held up the cross to the gaze of his discordant 
and wondering auditors. A deputy surveyor of the 
county, who was one of his hearers, was brought under 
conviction for sin, and was afterward converted to God. 
He was the first fruit of Methodism in Baltimore, and 
"some of his descendants are still living in the city and 
county, and are influential and pious members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. f 

Inspired with the conviction that he was in the line of 
his duty, and encouraged by the success which had al- 
ready attended his efforts, he plunged into the very heart 
of the citadel. He took a table for his pulpit, at the 
corner of Baltimore and Calvert streets, and shouted his 
message to the crowd ; and, " it being a day of general 
muster of the volunteers and militia, some young men 
of the 'higher class,' who considered it manly to get 
drunk on such occasions, determined to interrupt the 

* Kev. S. W. Coggeshall in Methodist Quarterly Rev., Oct., 1855. 
f Eev. W. Hamilton's article on Early Methodism in Maryland, 
etc., in Methodist Quarterly Review, July 1856. 



THE FIRST CONFERENCE. 



71 



services and break up the meeting. In the confusion 
which followed, the table was overturned and the 
preacher thrown to the ground." The captain of the 
company, however, who did not approve of such treat- 
ment of a stranger, and perceiving that King was a 
countryman of his, flew to his rescue and protected 
him from further molestation. Soon after this an in- 
vitation, it is said, was extended to him to preach in 
St. Paul's Church. It is not known who was the au- 
thor of this civility, but the sermon gave offence to the 
rector of the parish, and the preacher was informed 
" that hereafter the cannon should not be spiked for his 
benefit." One, who was present on the occasion, said 
" that Mr. King made the dust fly from the old velvet 
cushion." 

Such was the man who was appointed to superintend 
the interests of the cause in New Jersey, in 1773. His 
heroic disposition and burning zeal were eminently suited 
to the exigencies of the work ; and though it is probable 
he did not perform much labor in the province this 
year,* yet the frail bark of New Jersey Methodism was 
favored with brave and skillful guidance, by which, 
with the blessing of God, it passed safely along the 
treacherous current on which it had been launched, and 
glided into wider and clearer waters, where the favoring 

* Judge McLean's Sketch of Gatch, p. 27-8. 



72 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

breezes and the serener skies betokened a tranquil and 
triumphant voyage. 

At the Conference of 1774, Mr. King was appointed 
to Norfolk, Virginia, and in 1775, he is again in New 
Jersey on the Trenton circuit. In 1776 he located, but 
in 1801 his name again appears in the itinerant lists, and 
he was appointed to Franklin circuit, and in 1802 to Sus- 
sex circuit. In 1803 he again located. He was a man 
of true piety and usefulness, and so continued until he 
departed to heaven, at a very advanced age, from the 
vicinity of Raleigh, North Carolina. 

Philip Gatch appears to have been the first preacher 
officially appointed to the province, who for any consid- 
erable period performed in it regular ministerial labor. 
He entered upon the appointment, as we have already 
seen, in the autumn of 1773, and continued in it until 
the latter part of May, 1774, when he left it to attend 
Conference in Philadelphia. As he sustained so early 
and so important a relation to the cause in New Jersey, 
it is proper that he should receive more than a passing 
notice in these Memorials. 

He was born on the second of March, 1751. His pa- 
rents were members of the Episcopal Church; but they 
were destitute, he says, of experimental religion; yet 
they paid some attention to its restraints and forms. 
He was the subject of religious impressions at a very 



THE FIRST CONFERENCE, 73 

early age, and suffered keenly from his convictions of 
the evil and demerit of sin. He feared the Lord and 
greatly desired to serve him, but knew not how, yet he 
attended to his private religious duties with commenda- 
ble punctuality. "All was dark and dreary around 
me," he says, "and there vras no one in the neighbor- 
hood who possessed religion. Priests and people, in this 
respect, were alike." 

When in his seventeenth year, through the influence 
of wicked associations, he lost much of his concern for 
his spiritual welfare ; but, by means of afflictive provi- 
dences, his religious anxieties were reawakened; and, 
terrified by thoughts of death, judgment, and an eter- 
nity of misery, he mourned in secret places, often wish- 
ing he had never been born. For years he continued his 
efforts to find rest to his soul, but without success, until 
January, 1772, when he was permitted to hear the gos- 
pel from a Methodist lay preacher. The word was ac- 
companied to his understanding by the Holy Spirit. "I 
was stripped," he says, " of all my self-righteousness. 
It was to' me as filthy rags, when the Lord made known 
to me my condition. I saw myself altogether sinful and 
helpless, while the dread of hell seized my guilty con- 
science," He continued to attend Methodist preaching 
as he had opportunity, though his father forbade him to 
do so, declaring that his house should not hold two reli- 



74 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

gions. At length he attended a prayer meeting. Feed- 
ing that he was too sinful to remain where the worship 
of God was being performed, he arose and- left the 
house ; but a friend, in whom he had confidence, followed 
him, requesting him to return. Influenced by respect 
for his friend's piety, he yielded to his request, and, un- 
der the deepest exercise of mind, bowed himself before 
the Lord, saying in his heart, If thou wilt give me power 
to call on thy name how thankful will I be ! " Immedi- 
ately," he says, "I felt the power of God to affect my 
body and soul. It went through my whole system. I 
felt like crying aloud. God said, by his Spirit, to my 
soul, 'My power is present to heal thy soul, if thou wilt 
but believe/ I instantly submitted to the operation oi 
the Spirit of God, and my poor soul was set at liberty. 
I felt as if I had got into a new world. I was certainly 
brought from hell's dark door, and made nigh unto God 
by the blood of Jesus. 

it t Tongue cannot express 
The sweet comfort and peace 
Of a soul in its earliest love/ 

Ere I was aware I was shouting aloud, and should have 
shouted louder if I had had more strength. I was the 
first person known to shout in that part of the country. 
The order of God differs from the order of man. He 
knows how to do his own work, and will do it in his own 



THE FIRST CONFERENCE. 75 

way, though it often appears strange to us. Indeed, it 
is a strange work to convert a precious soul. I had no 
idea of the greatness of the change, till the Lord gave 
me to experience it. A grateful sense of the mercy and 
goodness of God to my poor soul overwhelmed me. I 
tasted and saw that the Lord was good." 

He at once became a decided and earnest Christian. 
His father soon renounced his opposition, and became, 
with most of the family, a member of the Methodist so- 
ciety, which was now formed in the neighborhood. 
Gatch soon began to give a word of exhortation in the 
prayer and class-meetings, and was blessed in so doing. 
His mind then became exercised on the subject of mak- 
ing his hortatory exercises more public, but he felt such 
a sense of weakness that to do so appeared impossible. 
His comforts failed, and he sank into despondency. He 
tried to stifle his impressions, but they would return with 
increased force, and again a sense of weakness would 
sink his feelings lower than ever. He knew not what to 
do. He read the first chapter of Jeremiah, portions of 
which seemed to suit his case. He then concluded that 
if the Lord would sanctify him he would be better pre- 
pared to speak his word. He now began to seek for a 
deeper baptism of the Holy Spirit. He says, " I la- 
bored under a sense of want, but not of guilt. I needed 
strength of soul. God knew that it was necessary for 



76 MEMORIALS OE METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

me to tarry in Jerusalem till endued with power from on 
high. The struggle was severe but short. I spent the 
most of my time in prayer, but sometimes only with 
groans that I could not utter. I had neither read nor 
heard much on the subject, till in the midst of my dis- 
tress a person put into my hands Mr. Wesley's sermon 
on Salvation by Faith. The person knew nothing of my 
exercise of mind. 

u I thought if salvation was to be obtained by faith, 
why not now ? I prayed, but the Comforter tarried. I 
prayed again, and still the answer was delayed. God 
had his way in the work ; my faith was strengthened, 
and my hope revived. I told my brother that I believed 
God would bless me that night in family prayer. He 
knew that my mind was in a great struggle, but did not 
know the pursuit of my heart. In the evening, while 
my brother-in-law prayed with the family, a great trem- 
bling seized me. After it had subsided, I was called 
upon to pray. I commenced, and after a few minutes I 
began to cry to God for my own soul, as if there was 
not another to be saved or lost. The Spirit of the Lord 
came down upon me, and the opening heavens shone 
around me. By faith I saw Jesus at the right hand of 
the Father. I felt such a weight of glory that I fell 
with my face to the floor. * * My joy was full. I 
related to others what God had done for me. This was 



THE FIRST CONFERENCE. 



77 



in July, a little more than two months after I had re- 
ceived the Spirit of justification. " 

With increased moral strength and greater spirit- 
ual enjoyments, his impression that it was his duty to 
preach the gospel returned. Still he hesitated. He 
was visited w T ith affliction, and in his extremity, like 
Jonah, he promised the Lord that if he would spare him 
he would speak his word " though it should be in ever so 
broken a manner." 

Thinking he w 7 ould be less embarrassed in his public 
exercises among strangers than among his relatives and 
acquaintances, he went into Pennsylvania, and made ap- 
pointments and held meetings. He continued to exhort 
and preach, and was greatly blessed in so doing, and had 
the pleasure of seeing the work prosper, until he was 
sent to labor in New Jersey. 

In entering upon his new and extensive field of labor, 
w 7 hich had received but little moral or religious culture, 
three considerations, he says, rested on his mind with 
great weight : first, his own weakness ; secondly, the 
help that God alone could afford ; and thirdly, the salva- 
tion of the souls of the people to whom he was sent. 

He realized the presence of the Master with him ir 
his work,- and his labors were crowned with a good de- 
gree of success. The Methodists were then, he says, 
very much spoken against. Much devotion, patience 



78 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



and labor were, therefore, necessary to gain even small 
accessions ; every inch of the ground had to be strenu- 
ously contested, and obstacles, such as would have ap- 
palled a weaker spirit or a less resolute faith, had to be 
assailed and overcome. But he was not the man to 
shrink from difficulties, and during this period of service 
in New Jersey, fifty-two, he says, united with the Church, 
most of whom professed religion. 

Among those, who at this time joined the society un- 
der Mr. Gatch, was the wife of Benjamin Abbott, and 
three of her children. Mrs. Abbott attended, with her 
husband, a meeting, one day, where Gatch was to preach. 
His discourse was of an alarming character, and it 
reached her heart. After the sermon she called him 
aside and said, " If what my husband tells me, and what 
you preach, be true, I have no religion.'' He went to 
Abbott and told him his wife was awakened and that he 
must take her to the place where he was to preach in the 
afternoon, to which he assented, and they accordingly 
went. After he had done preaching he called upon Ab- 
bott to pray. "This," says the latter, "was a great 
cross, as I had never prayed in public, except in my 
family ; however, I felt it my duty to comply, and ac- 
cordingly took up my cross, and the Lord wrought pow- 
erfully upon the people ; among the rest, my wife was 
so wrought upon that she cried aloud for mercy. So 



THE FIRST CONFERENCE. 



79 



great was her conviction that for three days, she eat, 
drank, or slept but little. She now saw she had only 
been a Pharisee, and was in a lost condition. On the 
third day, in the afternoon, she went over to John Mur- 
phey's, a neigbor of ours, a sensible man, and one well 
experienced in religion. After some conversation with 
him, she returned home, and upon her way the Lord 
broke in upon her soul, and she came home rejoicing in 
God. During her absence I went from home to visit a 
sick man, with whom I tarried all night. On my return 
next morning, she met me at the door with tears of joy; 
we embraced each other and she cried out, ' jSTow I know 
what you told me is true, for the Lord hath pardoned my 
sins.' We had a blessed meeting; it was the happiest 
day we had ever seen together. 'Now,' said she, 4 1 am 
willing to be a Methodist, too;' from that time we went 
on, hand in hand, helping and building each other up in 
the Lord. These were the beginning of days to us. 
Our children also, began to yield obedience to the Lord, 
and in the course of about three months after my wife's 
conversion, we had six children converted to God ; two 
sons and four daughters, the youngest, of whom, was 
only seven years old." One of the sons, David, after- 
wards became a useful preacher. 

Abbott must have resided, at this time, in Salem 



80 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

County, and, probably, in Pittsgrove Township. For 
some months after his conversion, he tells us, there was 
no Methodist society in the neighborhood where he lived. 
As Mr. Gatch received his wife and some of his children 
into society, and as he also called upon him to pray the 
first time he prayed in public, it is probable that Gatch 
formed the first class in Pittsgrove and appointed him 
leader, for he says, after speaking of his first attempts 
at preaching, "About this time we formed a class in our 
neighborhood and I was appointed to lead them. We 
were taken into the circuit and had regular circuit 
preaching once in two weeks : I continued to preach on 
Sabbath days and the circuit preachers on week days."* 
We think it is not very improbable that this class may 
have formed the nucleus of either the Broadneck, or 
Murphy's, since called Friendship Church, two of the 
oldest societies in the County of Salem, and which now 
constitute the Pittsgrove charge, New Jersey Confer- 
ence. Nothing, however, on this point can be affirmed 
positively. We only speak of the probabilities indicated 
by the facts. 

At length the time for Conference arrived, and Mr. 
Gatch was called to part with the people for whom he 
had labored. Though he found the cross to be heavy, 

* Life of Abbott, p. 35. 



THE FIRST CONFERENCE. 



81 



while serving the circuit, on account of the low estimate 
he placed upon his abilities, yet he felt it to be a great 
trial to part with the friends whose servant in the gospel 
he had been, for they possessed the unity of the Spirit, 
and he was united with them in the bonds of peace. 



82 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE WORK IN 1774. 

The Conference sat in Philadelphia, on Wednesday 
the 25th of May, 1774. It was, says Asbury, all things 
considered, a harmonious session, and was attended with 
great power. The appointments of the preachers were ac- 
quiesced in, and it closed on Friday "with a comfortable 
intercession." At this Conference New Jersey reported 
257 members, an increase during the year of fifty-seven. 
There were only two preachers appointed to labor at a 
time in New Jersey this year, but there were two 
circuits, Trenton and Greenwich. William Watters was 
appointed to Trenton, and Philip Ebert to Greenwich 
circuit. They were to change with Daniel Ruff and 
Joseph Yearby, who were sent to travel Chester circuit, 
in Pennsylvania. 

William Watters was the first native Methodist 
preacher that entered the traveling connection. He was 



THE WORK IN 1774. 83 

not, however, it is said, the first American preacher that 
was raised up by Methodism. This honor is assigned to 
Richard Owings, who was converted under the labors of 
Robert Strawbridge, in Maryland. But, though Owings 
was a local preacher before Watters, his name does not ap- 
pear on the minutes until 1775, after which he again re- 
tired into the local ranks, but two or three years before 
his death he re-entered the itinerancy, in which he closed 
his life. 

Though Walters stands first on the list of native 
Americans that entered the itinerant field, yet he and 
Gatch were very nearly assimilated in their history. 
" They were born the same year. Watters experienced 
religion first, but they began to exercise in public in the 
same summer of 1772. While Watters was laboring in 
Virginia, Gatch was laboring in Pennsylvania and other 
parts where the openings of Providence directed. Mr. 
Watters' name being on the minutes for 1773, brought 
him into the number admitted, and made an assistant 
May 25, 1774. Gatch was placed in the same relation 
at the same Conference, which shows that the Confer- 
ence considered the act of the quarterly meeting at 
which Mr. Gatch was employed, which Mr. Rankin and 
Mr. Asbury attended, as regular. Mr. Watters and Mr. 
Gatch sat, each for the first time, in the same Confer- 
ence in the same relation. This detail is rendered pro- 



84 MEMORIALS OE METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



per, as these venerable ministers were the first recruits 
for the itinerancy in America."* 

William Waiters was a native of Maryland and 
was born in the year 1751. He professed conversion 
and joined the Methodists in the year 1771. He had 
six brothers older than himself, all of whom, with two 
sisters, professed religion within a period of nine months, 
and all joined the society the same year. The names of 
the brothers were John, Henry, Godfrey, Nicholas, Ste- 
phen, and Walter. They were among the first whose 
hearts and houses were opened to receive the Methodist 
preachers when they entered Harford County, in Mary- 
land, and several of them early became official members 
in the Church. Nicholas became a useful preacher, and 
was admitted on trial by the Conference, in 1776, and 
continued to labor on different circuits until 1804, when 
he died in peace and triumph, in the sixty-fifth year of 
his age. As he approached the dark river he said, " I 
am not afraid to die, if it be the will of God ; I desire 
to depart and be with Christ ; the Church will sustain 
no loss by my death, for the Lord will supply my place 
with a man that will be more useful. Thanks be to God 
I have continued to live and labor faithfully to the end." 
Among his last utterances was the following couplet : 

* Sketch of Gatch. 



THE WORK IN 1774. 



85 



il Farewell, vain world, I'm going home, 
My Saviour smiles and bids me come." 

William entered upon the duties of the ministry in the 
local sphere in 1772, and in 1773. as Ave have seen, he 
"was appointed by the first Conference to New Jersey, 
but did not labor on that appointment, but labored during 
that year in Virginia and Maryland. In 1774 he is ap- 
pointed to Trenton Circuit, New Jersey. He entered 
upon his appointment, and was, he says, most kindly 
received. He labored successfully, his efforts being 
made a blessing to saints and sinners. "I felt," he 
says, "freedom of spirit, and preached as if every ser- 
mon was my last. I felt myself on the Lord's business, 
and forgot, comparatively, all other concerns." 

"While in this circuit, he met, for the first time, with 
the Life of Thomas Walsh. He was much impressed and 
affected in reading it. "I saw," he says, "perhaps 
much plainer than I ever did before, what manner of 
person a preacher ought to be, and that it was the privi- 
lege of all the children of God to love him with all the 
heart. Oh ! how did I long to be delivered out of the 
hands of all my spiritual enemies. Lord ! let me ' die 
the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like 
his.' Though I had too much reason to fear that I in- 
creased much faster in gifts than in grace, yet did the 
Lord sustain me in my weakness, and in some measure 



86 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

gave me the desire of my heart, in seeing a gracious 
prospect of sinners being daily added to the Lord, and 
to his people ; while our brethren sweetly went on, hand 
in hand, bearing each other's burthens, and striving to- 
gether for the hope of the gospel." 

While he was in New Jersey, "the dreadful cloud," 
he says, " that had been hanging over us, continued to 
gather thicker and thicker, so that I was often bowed 
down before the God of the whole earth, fearing the 
evils which were coming on our sinful land. I was in 
Trenton when Hancock and Adams passed through on 
their way to the first Congress in Philadelphia. They 
were received with great pomp, and were much caressed 
by the inhabitants of the town." 

After Mr. Watters had been in New Jersey about one 
fourth of the year, Mr. Rankin, who was, at that time, 
the Superintendent, thought it best that he should ex- 
change with Daniel Ruff, who was on Chester circuit, in 
Pennsylvania; promising him, however, that he should 
return at the end of a quarter. Accordingly he s went 
to Chester, where he was blessed with a revival, but 
at the end of the quarter he gladly recommended 
■ the people to God and to the word of his grace, to 
return to his kind Trenton friends, who, he says, " re- 
ceived me with as much affection as ever." 

Having entered again upon his appropriate field of labor, 



THE WOEK IN 1774. 



87 



he had large congregations at most of the preaching 
places, and says he enjoyed, in this circuit, many conve- 
niences for improvement. In the latter part of the 
winter and through the spring he was favored with see- 
ing the work of religion reviving. 64 Many," he says, 
"in the upper end of the circuit were greatly wrought 
on, and our meetings were lively and powerful. The 
cries of the people for mercy were frequently loud and 
earnest, so that the voice of the speaker, or any one 
praying, was frequently drowned. Several, who had long 
rested in a form of godliness, were brought under press- 
ing concern, and found the Lord ; and many of the 
most serious were greatly quickened. I was often much 
blessed in my own soul, and my hands lifted up, which 
were too apt to hang down. Oh ! how sweet to labor 
where the Lord gives his blessing, and < sets open a door 
which no man can shut.' "* 

He spent nine months of the year in the Trenton cir- 
cuit, much to his own comfort, and was greatly encour- 

* A Short Account of the Christian Experience and Ministerial La- 
bors of William Watters. Drawn up by Himself. Alexandria, 1806. 
This work has long been out of print, and probably very few copies 
are now in existence. Through the kindness of Rev. Dr. Roberts, of 
Baltimore, I have been favored with the use of a copy, which bears 
unmistakable marks of age, but is a precious memorial of the first 
American Methodist traveling preacher, and his times. 



88 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



aged to go rejoicing on his way. He attended the Con- 
ference in Philadelphia, in 1775, and was appointed to 
Frederick circuit in Maryland, to labor in connection 
with Robert Strawbridge, who formed, in that state, one 
of the first Methodist societies that existed in America. 
He felt afflicted with this appointment, and for a con- 
siderable time after he entered upon it he had great 
conflicts of soul, " and was often so exceedingly de- 
jected" that he was scarcely capable of performing 
his work ; but in the summer a revival broke out, 
which spread all round the circuit, and increased dur- 
ing his stay, so that he was led to rejoice that his lot 
was cast there. 

In 1776 he was appointed to Fairfax in Virginia ; 
in 1777 to Brunswick; in 1778 to Fairfax again; in 
1779 he was sent to Baltimore; in 1780 to Frederick; 
in 1781 he was again in Baltimore; in 1782 he was 
appointed to the Fluvana circuit in Virginia; and in 
1783 to Calvert. In 1784 he located. He entered 
the traveling ministry again in 1801, and was stationed 
in Alexandria; in 1802 Georgetown and Washington 
city ; in 1803-4 Alexandria ; in 1805 Washington. In 
1806 he again located. He was a man of "good re- 
port" and occupied, as his appointments show, a very 
responsible and honorable place in the early ministry of 
American Methodism. He maintained the character of 



THE WOP.K IN 1774. 89 

a laborious and successful minister of Christ until his 
death. 

The work advanced in New Jersey during the year 
1774, though in not quite the same ratio as it did the 
previous year. After making allowance for removals, 
expulsions, and deaths, three hundred members were re- 
ported at the close of the year, which was an increase 
of forty-three. One, and we cannot tell how many more, 
of the first fruits of the movement was, this year, gath- 
ered to the heavenly garner. Bishop Asbury, being in 
Burlington, says; "Here Mrs. H. gave an account of 
the triumphant death of her sister, whose heart the Lord 
touched two years ago under my preaching." And from 
that time till the present, multitudes, who have been re- 
generated and sanctified through the agency of Method- 
ism, have been ascending year by year from New Jersey, 
to the celestial abodes on high. Some of their beauti- 
fully aifecting and triumphant death scenes we shall 
have occasion to notice in the future progress of our 
work. 

Captain Webb was again in Burlington, in the latter 
part of November of this year, in company with Bishop 
Asbury. When they arrived they " were saluted with 
the melancholy news that two unhappy men were to be 
hung on the Monday following : one for bestiality, and 
the other for abusing several young girls in the most 



90 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



" brutish and shocking manner." They visited them as 
ministers of Christ, for the purpose of assisting them in 
preparing for their terrible doom. One of them, who 
was a Papist, manifested a little attention to their words, 
but wanted to know if he might not trust for pardon 
after death. The other was a young man, who appeared 
stupid and careless in regard to his immortal interests. 
In the evening Asbury preached, and " showed the people 
the emptiness of mere externals in religion, and the ab- 
solute necessity of the inward power and graces thereof." 

On Friday, December 2, Mr. Asbury writes in his 
Journal, "My soul enjoys great peace; but longs for 
more of God. We visited the prisoners again ; and 
Captain W. enforced some very alarming truths upon 
them, though very little fruit of his labor could be seen. 
Mr. R. came to Burlington to day and desired me to go 
to Philadelphia. So, after preaching, in the evening, 
from Prov. xxviii. 13, I set oft the next morning for the 
city ; and found the society in the spirit of love." 

Abraham Whitworth, who was appointed to Baltimore 
in 1773, and to Kent in 1774, fled from his circuit on 
account of immorality, and came into Jersey. Here he 
poisoned the mind of Ebert, who was on Greenwich cir- 
cuit, with the fallacies of Universalism, and he was 
therefore dismissed. In consequence of this the circuit 
remained for some time destitute of preaching. Mr. 



THE WORK IN 1774. 



91 



Gatch was appointed to labor on Frederick circuit this 
vear, but he had been on it but a short time when he was 
sent to Kent circuit to fill the vacancy caused by the 
treachery of Whitworth. He labored there successfully 
till a short time before Conference, when he returned, 
by direction, to New Jersey, to look after the scattered 
sheep who, by the dismissal of Ebert, had been left 
without a shepherd. 

Having fulfilled his mission, he proceeded to the Con- 
ference which was again held in Philadelphia the 19th 
of May 1775. At this Conference he was appointed to 
Kent circuit. He remained there until the fall when he 
went to Baltimore. There he remained for a time, and 
then exchanged with the preacher on Frederick circuit, 
so that he had three different appointments in the same 
year. In the last appointment he was most cruelly per- 
secuted. On one occasion he heard that a man, whose 
wife had been convicted under another preacher, meant 
to revenge himself upon him. A company of his friends 
gathered around him, and when he was assailed by the 
mob they desired to fight for his protection, but he per- 
suaded them not to use violent means, telling them he 
could bear it for Christ's sake. Two men held his horse 
by the bridle, while a third, elevated at a suitable height, 
applied the tar, commencing at the left cheek. The up- 
roar was very great, some swearing and some crying; 



92 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IX NEW JERSEY. 

the women especially, who were present, " dealt out their 
denunciations against the mob in unmeasured terms." 
The man who applied the tar laid it on liberally, and 
called out for more, saying that Gatch was true blue. 
At length one of the company cried out, " It is enough." 
The last stroke made with the paddle was drawn across 
the naked eyeball, which caused indescribable pain, and 
from the effects of which he never entirely recovered. 
His horse became so frightened that when released he 
dashed off with such violence that he could not rein him 
up for some time, and he narrowly escaped being thrown 
against a tree. " If I ever felt for the souls of men," 
he says, " I did for theirs. When I got to my appoint- 
ment, the Spirit of the Lord so overpowered me that I fell 
prostrate in prayer before him for my enemies. The 
Lord, no doubt, granted my request, for the man who 
put on the tar, and several others of them, were after- 
ward converted." The next day a mob lay in wait for 
him on his way to an appointment, but, by the direction 
of a friend, he eluded them by taking another route. 
The mob designed to tie him to a tree and whip him un- 
til he promised to preach no more. A very worthy 
young man, who was an exhorter and class leader was 
attacked by the persecutors while at work in the field 
and whipped " so cruelly that the shirt upon his back, 
though made of the most substantial material, was liter- 



THE WORK IN 1774. 



93 



ally cut to pieces." His employer, who was a Presbyte- 
rian clergyman, took the matter in hand and had them 
brought to justice, and they were severely punished by 
the court. This put an end, he says, to persecution on 
that circuit. 

Gatch was too much devoted to the work of preaching 
the gospel to be turned aside by persecution. " He has 
been heard to say, judging, probably, from the rage and 
cruelty of the mob, into whose hands he had fallen the 
day before, and from the severe manner in which they 
had whipped the young man in the field, that, had he 
fallen into their hands when lying in w r ait for him, his life 
would probably have been taken ; ' for,' said he, 4 1 should 
never have made the promise that they intended to ex- 
tort from me.' " Sometimes, he says, he felt great tim- 
idity at the prospect of danger, but, when the hour of 
peril came, his fears vanished. This he considered a 
clear fulfillment of the promise, " Lo, I am with you 
always." 

We will take our leave of this Methodist pioneer and 
hero with the following tribute by his son:* "When he 
went to Virginia, f persecution did not rage to the same 

* Rev. George Gatch, in Christian Advocate and Journal, 1835, 
p. 136. 

t He was appointed to Hanover, Virginia, at the Conference 

in 1776. 
6 



94 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

extent, but his health soon failed from excessive labor, 
and exposure to the open air in field preaching ; so that 
at the Conference, in 1778, he received no appointment; 
and January 14, 1778, he was married to Elizabeth 
Smith, of Powhattan county, daughter of Thomas Smith. 
Though he received no regular appointment after this 
time, he had the superintendence of some of the circuits in 
the vicinity of his residence, and spent a considerable 
time in traveling and preaching at large ; until the sta- 
bility of the work, and the cares of his family reconciled 
his mind to a more circumscribed sphere. 

"He was received into full connection at the Confer- 
ence in 1774, and acted as an assistant ; and when the 
preachers from England were under the necessity of re- 
turning, he was one of five who were chosen to superin- 
tend the work. When the controversy* arose, which 
led to the present organization of the Church, he was 
one of three who superintended the southern part of the 
work, and to whom the present state of things, in part, 
is to be attributed. He was the mover and vindicator 
of the rule for trying members by a committee, and from 
his labors in the business department and in the pulpit, 
it may be said, he bore the burden and heat of the day. 

* This controversy was concerning the administration of the ordi- 
nances, a summary account of which will doubtless be given in the 
History of American Methodism. 



THE WORK IN 1774. 



95 



" He resided in Powhattan county sixteen years and 
then removed to Buckingham county. He was led, after 
a residence of five years in Buckingham county, to haz- 
ard a removal to the Northwestern territory. This 
was in the fall of 1798 ; and in the succeeding winter he 
settled his family on the Little Miami, nine miles from 
the mouth — the place of his residence till his death. He 
began immediately to hunt up the lost sheep in the wil- 
derness, and was among the first to establish Methodism 
north of the Ohio. He was chosen, in 1802, from Cler- 
mont county to assist in the formation of a constitution 
for a state government ; and was chairman of the com- 
mittee to whom were referred the propositions of Con- 
gress for becoming a state. After the organization of 
the state he served twenty years as associate judge. As 
one of the pioneers, he was useful in the settlement of 
the country, and was looked to for advice on all common 
matters, by the many who soon began to settle in his 
neighborhood ; while his house was a refuge for the 
weary wanderer. In his political and civil relations he 
maintained the dignity of the gospel, and carried reli- 
gious influences, thereby, into many minds, which, pro- 
bably, otherwise would not have been brought under its 
control. 

" He was all the time industrious, as a local preacher, 
and continued his religious services after he had declined 



96 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

all civil and domestic labors and responsibilities. I be- 
lieve he preached his last sermon on the second of Jan- 
uary 1834, on which he was eighty-four years old: 

" He was taken on the 25th of December quite ill 
with the prevailing epidemic. He appeared sensible of 
his situation, and said but little. He remarked, a few 
hours before his dissolution, four of his children stand- 
ing by his bed, that on the morning before he was taken 
he had an unusual flow of Divine feelings, such as he 
had rarely experienced ; but that, during his affliction, 
his pain had been so great that he could hardly compose 
his mind while he could send a wish to the throne of 
grace; but that we must all pray for him, as he had 
often prayed for us. When asked, however, he ex- 
pressed an unshaken confidence in God. He fell asleep 
in the arms of Jesus, without a struggle or a groan, or 
the least apparent agitation ; while his spirit silently for- 
sook the long abode in which it had experienced so many 
vicissitudes, and found a safe retreat in the bosom of its 
God." 



DARK DAYS. 



97 



CHAPTER V. 

DARK DAYS IN THE HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY METHODISM. 

At the Conference of 1775 there still remained two 
circuits in New Jersey, and three preachers were ap- 
pointed to labor in the State. John King and Daniel 
Ruff were sent to Trenton circuit and William Duke to 
Greenwich. They were to change in one quarter. It 
would appear that, led by so brave and earnest a cham- 
pion of the cause as King, they labored zealously to 
carry the work forward ; .yet there appears at the close 
of the year a very remarkable and painful decrease of 
members — a decrease of one hundred and fifty, one half 
from the number reported the previous year. 

It is not probable that this mournful declension was 
the result of ordinary backslidings ; but the excitement 
of war, and the arousement of a martial spirit, "which 
was beginning to be felt over the whole country, called 
the minds of the people away from religious contempla- 
tions and caused them to neglect the ordinances of the 



98 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



gospel. While their minds and hearts were absorbed by 
thoughts and schemes of carnal warfare it is not strange 
that many ceased to fight the good fight of faith.- It is 
a sad duty to record too, that the preachers on the Tren- 
ton circuit, were not as attentive to the work as its exi- 
gencies required, else, it may be, there had not been so 
serious a declension in the membership. On the 16th 
of April 1776, Asbury, in his Journal says, "I received 
a letter from friend E. at Trenton, complaining that the 
societies in that circuit had been neglected by the 
preachers/ ' There may have been reasons which ren- 
dered this neglect, in some degree, justifiable, or possibly, 
unavoidable. 

During those early and troublous times it was a com- 
mon thing for preachers to locate. Accordingly the 
three who traveled in New Jersey this year soon retired 
into the local ranks. King, as we have seen, located at 
the end of the year, but afterward returned to the work, 
Ruff located in 1781 and Duke in 1779. 

Enough has already been said of King to give the 
reader a tolerably just idea of his character as a minis- 
ter. We will however give an additional incident which 
shows how powerful was the influence which he exer- 
cised. A German, named Henry Rowman, was induced 
one day to attend a Methodist meeting. It was in the 
year 1768. He went under the influence of strong 



DARK DAYS. 99 

prejudice : and, after reaching the place, determined to 
go away without hearing the preaching ; but, on seeing 
a group of decent, well dressed persons approach the 
place, he supposed it could be no disgrace to him to be 
found in their company, so he returned and seated him- 
self. John King was the preacher. He took his posi- 
tion and stood a few minutes with his hand before his 
face, engaged in devotion. Bowman was forcibly struck 
with the conviction that he was a messenger from God, 
and that he himself was a sinner. Distress seized his 
mind, and he turned his attention to the subject of his 
personal salvation and anxiously sought pardon until he 
obtained it. He united with the Methodists, and after 
maintaining his profession fifty-nine years he finished his 
course with joy. 

Daxiel Bxff entered the ministry at a very early 
period in the history of the cause. He was received on 
trial at the Conference of 1T74, the second held in 
America, but he was very usefully engaged in the work 
previously to that time. Xearly three months before 
that Conference was held, Bishop Asbury, being in the 
region of Baltimore, speaks of preaching at the " upper 
ferry," and says : " Honest, simple Daniel Ruff, has been 
made a great blessing to these people. Such is the wis- 
dom and power of God, that he hath wrought marvel- 
ously by this plain man, that no flesh may glory in his 



100 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

presence." More than two months afterward he writes; 
" Rode to Susquehannah and many of the leading men 
were present, w r ith a large congregation. Simple D. R. 
[doubtless meaning Daniel Ruff,] has been an instru- 
ment of real and great good to the people in these 
parts." 

When Mr. Ruff traveled Trenton circuit Benjamin 
Abbott's house w T as one of his preaching places. The 
latter was much engaged for the blessing of sanctifica- 
tion. Ruff went to his house and preached, and in the 
morning, in family prayer, he prayed that God w T ould 
sanctify them soul and body. 66 1 repeated," says Ab- 
bott, " these words after him, ' Come, Lord, and sanc- 
tify me, soul and body !' That moment the Spirit of 
God came upon me in such a manner that I fell flat to 
the floor, and lay as one strangling in blood, while my 
wife and children stood weeping over me. But I had 
not power to lift hand or foot, nor yet ■ to speak one 
word ; I believe I lay half an hour, and felt the power 
of God running through every part of my soul and 
body, like fire consuming the inward corruptions of fallen, 
depraved nature. When I arose and w r alked out of the 
door, and stood pondering these things in my heart, it 
appeared to me that the whole creation was praising 
God; it also appeared as if I had got new eyes, for 
everything appeared new, and I felt a love for all the 



DARK DAYS. 



101 



creatures that God had made, and an uninterrupted 
peace filled my breast. In three days God gave me a 
full assurance that he had sanctified me, soul and body. 
' If a man love me he will keep my words ; and my Fa- 
ther will love him and we will come unto him, and make 
our abode with him,' (John xiv. 23,) which I found day 
by day manifested to my soul by the witness of his 
Spirit." 

Ruff did not long remain in New Jersey, as in June 
of this year we find him in Maryland, preaching in the 
neighborhood of Freeborn Garrettson's residence. Rev. 
J. B. Vakeley quotes the following from the Life of Gar- 
rettson: " On the Tuesday following, in the afternoon, I 
went to hear Mr. Daniel Ruff preach, and was so op- 
pressed that I was scarcely able to support my burden. 
After preaching I called in with D. R. at Mrs. G's. and 
stayed till about nine o'clock." " On his way home on 
horseback that night," continues Mr. Wakeley,* " after a 
most desperate struggle with the enemy, Mr. Garrettson 
was accepted in the Beloved. He says, ' I knew the 
very instant when I submitted to the Lord and was will- 
ing that Christ should reign over me. I likewise knew 
the two sins which I parted with last, pride and un 
belief.'" 

* Lost Chapters Kecovered from the Early History of American 
Methodism. 



102 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

After enduring severe mental conflicts in regard to his 
duty to preach the gospel, and having reached a satis- 
factory conclusion about the matter, "I received," says 
Mr. Garrettson, " a letter from brother D. R. desiring 
me to come and take the circuit a few weeks while he 
went to Philadelphia. I had no doubt but the Lord di- 
rected him to write thus."* He complied with the re- 
quest. When Mr Ruff returned he resumed his labors 
on the circuit and Garrettson went to form a new one. 
Mr. Ruff solicited Garrettson to attend the Conference 
of 1776 at Baltimore, which he did, and was received on 
trial and appointed to a circuit. f 

In 1776, Mr. RufF was appointed to New York. He 
was the first American preacher that was stationed at 
Wesley Chapel, the first Church built in that city. 
Several reasons conspired to render this a difficult ap- 
pointment. The preacher stationed there the previous 
year had left the Methodists and the society had become 
greatly diminished, as they were left destitute of the 
advantages of pastoral attention and oversight : and 
"the revolutionary troubles were increasing. New York 
was beginning to be the theatre where awful trage- 
dies were performed. The curtain was raised and the 
actors were performing their parts, at which humanity 

* The experience and travels of Mr. Freeborn Garrettson, etc. ; 
Philadelphia, 1791. f Ibid. 



DARK DAYS. 



103 



shudders. We cannot wonder that Mr. Ruff considered 
it unsafe to remain in New York and therefore aban- 
doned a scene of so much confusion and suffering."* 

Mr. Ruff labored in New Jersey at four different 
times. During one of the periods of his ministry there 
an incident occurred, which may, perhaps, be regarded 
as illustrative of the command which Jesus once gave to 
a certain man to not tarry to bury even the dead of his 
household, but to go and preach the Kingdom of God. 
A man by the name of Robert Turner, went from New 
Jersey into the peninsula and was useful there in preach- 
ing. Lewis Alfrey, who had been an extravagant sin- 
ner, was convinced through his labors, and afterward be- 
came a useful preacher. Turner returned to his family 
for the purpose of settling his affairs, intending to give 
himself wholly to the ministry after a few weeks. Ruff 
pressed him to go into the circuit before the time he in- 
tended, saying, " Suppose you had but a fortnight to 
live would you not go ?" He replied he would. By the 
time Ruff came round again, about a fortnight, Turner 
died of the small-pox. f In 1780 Mr. Ruff was stationed 
in Baltimore in connection with Freeborn Garrettson and 
Joshua Dudley. At the ensuing Conference he located. 
He probably labored more in New Jersey than any other 
preacher of his time. 

* Wakeley's Lost Chapters. f Asbmys Journal. 



104 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



William Duke joined the Conference in 1774, and 
was appointed to Frederick circuit with Philip Gatch. 
He was then quite a youth. This year, 1775, he is sent 
to New Jersey, and in 1776 to Brunswick ; in 1777 he 
was stationed in Philadelphia, and in 1778 he was sent 
to Carolina. He joined the Protestant Episcopal Church 
and resided in Elkton, Maryland, where he died in 1840. 
Mr. Duke was intimately acquainted with Captain Webb, 
and often heard him preach. He greatly admired him, 
though he thought him a little visionary. He was accus- 
tomed to relate many interesting anecdotes concerning him. 
Captain Webb entertained a high regard for Mr. Duke and 
presented him with his Greek Testament, which he kept 
for many years, and then gave it to Rev. J. B. Hagany, 
and he presented it to Bishop Scott, who preserves it as 
a memento "of the old soldier, who fought so nobly the 
battles of the cross." 

Before the close of this Conference year, Asbury again 
appears in New Jersey, rallying the feeble and broken 
detachments of the cause to more earnest battle. On 
Tuesday, the 22nd of April, 1776, he rode to Burlington 
from Philadelphia, and on the way he says, "My soul 
was filled with holy peace, and employed in heavenly 
contemplations ; but found to my grief that many had so 
imbibed a martial spirit that they had lost the spirit of 
pure and undefiled religion. I preached from Rom. xiiL 



DARK DAYS. 105 

2, but found it a dry and barren time. And some who 
once ran well now walk disorderly. On Wednesday I 
rode to Trenton, and found very little there but spiritual 
deadness. Had very little liberty in preaching among 
them ; thus has the Lord humbled me amongst my peo- 
ple. But I hope through grace to save myself, and at 
least some that hear me." 

The next day he rode about eleven miles, and preached 
to a people who manifested very little feeling under the 
word; " but at I. B's. the next day there was more sen- 
sibility amongst the congregation ; and, though very un- 
well, I found my heart warm and expanded in preaching 
to them. It is my present determination to be more 
faithful in speaking to all that fall in my way, about 
spiritual and eternal matters. The people were very 
tender at friend F's. on Saturday. And on the Lord's 
day I spoke feelingly and pointedly to about three hun- 
dred souls at the meeting house. Afterward I returned, 
through the rain, to Trenton, and was well rewarded in 
my own soul, while preaching to the congregation at 
night. I felt every word, which seemed to cut like a two 
edged sword, and put me in mind of some of my former 
visits. May the Lord revive his work amongst them 
again, and make the time to come better than the former 
time!" 

While Asbury was abundant in labors for the cause of 



106 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



God and Methodism, in New Jersey and elsewhere, he 
was the subject of mighty assaults from the adversary. 
During his present tour in New Jersey, he writes, 
" Satan beset me with powerful suggestions, striving to 
persuade me that I should never conquer all my spiritual 
enemies, but be overcome at last. However, the Lord 
was near, and filled my soul with peace. Blessed Lord, 
be ever near me, and suffer me not to yield to the temp- 
ter ; no, not for a moment !" 

On the 30th of April he attended a Quarterly-meeting 
at Hopewell. The love-feast was an interesting and 
powerful season. Many related their Christian experi- 
ence. He lectured in the evening at I. B's. though very 
weary, " but my heart," he says, "is with God, and I 
know we cannot tire or wear out in a better cause." 
The following day he rode back to Trenton, where he 
preached to about a hundred souls, and then traveled 
about thirty miles to another stopping place. 

On the second of May he preached at Mount Holly. 
"Some melted under the word, though, at first, they 
seemed inattentive and careless." He says, "The grace 
of God kept my spirit this day in sweet seriousness 
without any mixture of sourness." The next day but 
one he was at New Mills. A Chapel was already 
erected there, and he preached in it with fervor but 
not with freedom from Matt. vii. 7 ; it was, probably, 



DARK DAYS. 



107 



in process of being completed, as he says, "I found bro- 
ther W. very busy about his Chapel, which is thirty-six 
feet by twenty-eight, with a gallery ten feet deep." He 
spent the Sabbath at New Mills, and preached, and it 
was a heart-affecting season. He then returned to 
Philadelphia, but went, he says, under a heavy gloom of 
mind, and found his spirit "much shut up." 

During this year, Abbott, with apostolic zeal, marvel- 
ous faith, and overwhelming eloquence, was storming the 
citadel of the enemy in West Jersey. It was at about 
this period that he bore the banner of Methodism into 
the town of Salem. A gentleman there invited him to 
preach at his house, and on the next Sabbath after he 
received the invitation he proclaimed the truth there 
with characteristic energy and power to a large congre- 
gation. Some cried out under the sermon ; many were 
in tears. He made another appointment in two weeks 
from that day at eleven o'clock. An elder in the Pres- 
byterian Church, who was present, asked him if he would 
preach at his house. He told him he would that day two 
weeks, at three o'clock. At the time appointed he was 
at his post and preached at both places to many people. 
At the first, he enjoyed much freedom in speaking, and 
after the sermon, found that both the man and his wife, 
in whose house the service was held, were awakened. 
At the next, great power attended the word, several cried 



108 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

aloud and one fell to the floor. After meeting he asked 
the man of the house if he knew what he had done ? 
" What have I done ?" he replied. Said Abbott, "You 
have opened your door to the Methodists, and if a work 
of religion break out, your people will turn you out of 
their synagogue/' He replied he would die for the truth. 
He repeated the appointment at both places. On his 
way home he met with one of Whitefield's converts, who 
had known the Lord forty years. He was, says Abbott, 
an Israelite indeed. They enjoyed great comfort in con- 
versing on the things of God. He afterward died at 
Abbott's house, "happy in God." 

The following Sabbath he preached at Hell Neck, a 
place which received its name on account of the wicked- 
ness of the people. One said he had heard Abbott 
swear, and had seen him fight, and now he would go and 
hear him preach. He was awakened under the word, 
and soon after was "converted. Abbott received several 
invitations to preach through the neighborhood, and a 
revival of religion followed. Among those who were the 
subjects of the work was a lad of fifteen. His father 
was a great enemy of religion, and determined to pre- 
vent his being a Methodist, and even whipped him for 
praying. This resulted in leading him to the borders of 
despair, and he was tempted to think he had sinned 
against the Holy Ghost. Abbott heard of it and went 



DARK DAYS. 



109 



to see him. He told him his temptations, and cried out, 
" There, I have now done it !" and clapped his hands on 
his mouth. Abbott told him he had not done it, and 
would not do it for the world. His father soon came in, 
and he warned him against such conduct towards his son, 
but he replied that it was all delusion. "Who told you 
so?" said Abbott U D. P., " said he, " and he is a 
Presbyterian and a good man." " Tell D. P. that he is 
a deceived man," said Abbott, "for that is the true work 
of God upon your son." The son then cried out, " The 
Lord is here J The Lord is here!" The father, address- 
ing Abbott, said, " Benjamin, are you not a Free 
Mason?" He replied no ; that he knew nothing of Free 
Masonry, but he knew this was the operation of the 
Spirit of God. The father then wept. Abbott prayed, 
and the family were all in tears. After this the son went 
on joyfully. 

Abbott then went to another of the neighbors, and 
talked and prayed with them. The man kneeled, but 
the woman continued knitting during the prayer. When 
he arose he took her by the hand and said, " Do you 
pray?" then, looking steadfastly at her, added, "God 
pity you." This pierced her heart, so that she had no 
rest until she obtained mercy of the Lord. 

The excitement reached such a height that the whole 
neighborhood seemed in a state of alarm* A Quaker 



110 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

went to hear hiru, and asked him to his house. He 
went, and when he entered he said, " God has brought 
salvation to this house." While at prayer in the even- 
ing, a daughter of his host was convicted, and soon after, 
the Quaker, his wife, three sons, and two daughters ex- 
perienced religion, and as the fruit of the revival they 
had a considerable society in the place. 

He extended his labors also into Mannington, where 
great congregations assembled to hear him preach. At 
one place where he preached, the minister of the parish at- 
tended. " I felt, at first," he says, " a great cross to preach 
before him, he being a learned man, and I supposed had 
come to hear me with an evil design, as appeared after- 
ward to be the case. However, I prayed to the Lord 
not to let me be confounded. After I began, my cross 
was but light, and the minister, who sat before me, was 
no more than another sinner. The power of God rested 
upon us, and several cried out aloud, and two fell to the 
floor, agonizing for salvation. I tarried all night, and 
the minister and five or six of the heads of the Presby- 
terian meeting, spent the evening with me. in order to 
dispute, and pick me to pieces if possible. The minister 
asked me if I was a AYesleyan : I answered, Yes. 6 Then.' 
said he, 'you deny the perseverance of the saints.' God 
forbid, said I, for none can be saved unless they perse- 
vere to the end. fi Then,' said he, '"'you believe the pos- 



DARK DAYS. 



Ill 



sibility of falling from grace.' I answered, Yes. He 
then, in a very abrupt manner, gave me the lie ; but, 
when I told him that I could prove the doctrine by the 
"word of God, he very passionately gave me the lie again. 
I quoted sundry scriptures, particularly that of David's 
fall, and turned to Ezek. chapter iii., verses 20 and 21, 
and wished him to read and explain the passage; but he 
would not touch the Bible. His elder said it read as I 
said, and he ought to explain it. He, in a passion, said 
he was brought up at a college, and certainly knew ; but 
I was a fool, and he could cut such a fellow's throat ; 
then turned to his elder and said, ' If there was a dog's 
head on your shoulders, I would cut it off. Do not you 
know the articles of your own Church? I will teach 
you better.' I told him the curse of God was upon all 
such watchmen as he was, who did not warn the people 
against sin; that if they lived and died in sin, they could 
not be saved, and by his doctrine souls might fall away 
and perish, but their blood would be found in his skirts. 
He replied, 4 1 could cut such a fellow's throat ; it makes 
my blood boil to hear the perseverance of the saints de- 
nied.' I then handed him the Bible, and desired him to 
clear it up. ' But,' said he, ' you are a fool, you know 
nothing at all. I was brought up at college, and I will 
have you before your betters.' He got so angry that he 
could say but little more. I told him that if we were 



112 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

ambassadors for Christ, we ought to go on hand and 
heart to attack the devil in all his strong holds. And 
then asked the man of the house if I should preach there 
again ; but the answer was, No. So this place was shut 
against me through the influence of the minister. But, 
glory to God, there were doors opened in Mannington, 
so that I was at no loss for places to preach at." 

One of his old companions invited him to preach in 
his house at Woodstown ; he accepted the invitation and 
preached there to a crowded house. While he was 
speaking, a mob of soldiers came with their guns, and 
bayonets fixed, and one rushed in, while the rest sur- 
rounded the door ; the people fled every way, and the sol- 
dier presented his bayonet to Abbott as though he would 
pierce him through ; it passed twice close by his ear. " If 
ever I preached the terrors of the law," he says, "I did 
it while he was threatening me in this manner, for I felt 
no fear of death, and soon found he could not withstand 
the force of truth ; he gave way and retreated to the 
door. They endeavored to send him back again, but in 
vain, for he refused to return. However, I went on, and 
finished my discourse, and then asked the man of the 
house if I should preach there again. He said No, for 
they will pull down my house. Bat Dr. Harris told me 
I might preach in his house. In two weeks I attended 
at the Doctor's, and found about one hundred men under 



DARK DAYS. 113 

arms. When I began to preach, they grounded their 
arms, and heard me in a quiet, orderly manner." 

In 1776 the Conference -was held in Baltimore. It 
commenced on the twenty-first of May, Asbury was 
prevented from attending this Conference, much to his 
regret, on account of bodily indisposition. Watters, 
■who was present, describes it as a good and refreshing 
season. " We were of one heart and mind," he says, 
"and took sweet counsel together, not how we should 
get riches or honors, or anything that this poor world 
could afford us ; but, how we should make the surest 
work for heaven and eternal happiness, and be the in- 
struments of saving others. We had a powerful time in 
our love-feast, a little before we parted, while we sat at 
our Divine Master's feet, and gladly heard each other 
tell what the Lord had done for us in the different places 
in which we had been laboring." 

Owing, doubtless, to the declension of the cause in 
New Jersey, the work there was again thrown into one 
circuit, which Robert Lindsay and John Cooper were ap- 
pointed to travel. The causes of the last year's de- 
crease still existed, so that no marked progress was 
made. Still, the cause did not retrograde, but there was 
an increase of ten members during the year. Lindsay, 
the preacher in charge, was an Irishman by birth. He 
went to Europe during the Revolutionary war, and in 



114 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

1778 his name disappears from the minutes, but Lee says 
he traveled and preached until 1788. 

One of the heroes of his day was John Cooper, a 
modest, unpretentious man, of good abilities, and of a 
self sacrificing spirit. The early Methodists were re- 
markable for their habits of devotion ; illustrating in a 
good degree the apostle's injunction, to " pray without 
ceasing.' ' When Cooper obtained religion and united 
with the Methodists, he became a man of prayer. His 
father, finding him at one time engaged in this exercise 
in an apartment of his dwelling, and being enraged at 
this exhibition of his religion and Methodism, threw a 
shovel of burning embers upon him. Not content with 
this he afterward expelled him from his house. Persecu- 
tion, however, could not destroy his attachment to the 
cause of his Saviour, nor turn him away from the path 
of duty. 

He entered the itinerancy when it promised its votaries 
nothing but extensive travels among strangers, frequent 
removals, hard labor, poor fare, and the contempt of the 
ungodly world. But with a resolute faith he threw him- 
self into the ranks, and heroically fought at the various 
posts assigned him, until he fell with a wreath of glory 
upon his brow, a victor on the field. During fifteen 
years of the most trying period in the history of the 
cause, he went to and fro, traveling circuits which, in 



extent, were greater than some whole Conference terri- 
tories at present are, the area of his labors reaching from 
New Jersey to Virginia. 

He suffered from poverty, being often in want, as the 
labors of a Methodist preacher, in those days, were not 
productive of pecuniary gain, as they have never been, 
nor in many instances did those hard-working itinerants 
always then enjoy the commonest comforts of life. But 
with all his afflictions (for he was a man of affliction) 
and his privations he murmured not, nor would he even 
make his wants known until they were observed by his 
friends, and relief afforded him. He was admitted on 
trial at the Conference of 1775, having been recom- 
mended by Philip Gratch, with whom he was appointed 
to labor on Kent circuit, in Maryland. He closed his 
sufferings and toils in 1788 or 1789. He was a man of 
grave and fixed countenance, and his public exercises 
were solemn. He was quiet, inoffensive, and blameless, 
and subject to dejection. His end was peace. 

This year the tempest of war swept terrifically over 
Xew Jersey, and such was the alarm and suffering among 
the people that it seemed, to human eyes, absolutely out 
of the question for religion, and especially Methodism, 
to prosper. Indeed, could it .have maintained its posi- 
tion only, it would have been a great success. Though 
the decrease the last year was great, yet, as we have 



116 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



seen, there was a little gain realized this year. This 
■was a triumph. The preachers were generally consid- 
ered unfriendly to the American cause, on account of 
the imprudent conduct of the English preachers, who 
were compelled to leave the country ; and the word 
Methodist, to the popular ear, was the synonym of tory. 
That this was unjust, of course the world now knows ; 
for Methodism has always been as loyal to the cause of 
human liberty as any other Christian sect. But as is 
often the case, the improper conduct of a few subjected 
the rest to unmerited reproach and suffering. 

As Washington retreated into Pennsylvania, nearly 
the whole of New Jersey was abandoned to the British 
troops, who chose their winter quarters where they 
pleased. The sufferings of Jerseymen were conse- 
quently terrible. Women and children fled, in winter, 
not knowing whither they went, while many a brave 
hearted man abandoned his well furnished house and 
farm to destruction rather than remain and trust himself 
to the mercy of the invading foe. This portentous year 
closed, however, victoriously on the side of America. 
The Rev. Thomas Ware, who was a Revolutionary sol- 
dier, says; " Washington, by two masterly strokes of 
generalship, first on the Hessians at Trenton, and sec- 
ondly on the rear of the British army at Princeton, 
where another part of the army was compelled to lay 



DAKK DAYS. 



117 



down their arms, completely turned the tables on our 
enemies, and closed the campaign of 1776 with shouting 
on the American side. 

i: Many have heard the fame of these great transac- 
tions, and some I have heard talk of them as if Wash- 
ington thereby barely wiped off the reproach of his late 
retreat : but had they lived in that portentous day, and 
felt the throb I felt, and millions more, they would tell a 
different tale. Each stroke was death. The first was 
death to British pride ; for, by it all the fame of their 
mighty deeds that had gone out over the floods was 
blasted, and by the second all their sanguine hopes of 
conquest were at an end. The first stroke swept our 
whole western hemisphere ; the proud forgiver of our 
" sins fled from those they came to pardon ; and the sec- 
ond compelled the mighty subduers of our continent to 
retreat, and shut themselves up in New Brunswick."* 

Before this distressing period Methodism had been in- 
troduced into East Jersey, but such was now the state 
of things, no Methodist preacher could travel there. It 
was a long time before they could resume their labors in 
that part of the state ; and consequently they turned 
their attention to West Jersey, which was open to reli- 

* Rev. Thomas Ware's article entitled " The Introduction of 
Methodism in the Lower part of West Jersey,' ? Christian Advocate 
and Journal, 1831, p. 118. 



I 

118 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



gious culture, and which has yielded more abundant fruit 
to Methodism than the eastern portion of the state. 

The Conference of 1777 was held at Deer Creek, 
Harford county, Md. The minutes say it was held in 
the " preaching house," but Mr. Watters says it was in 
his eldest brother's house. There were now twenty- 
seven traveling preachers in the connection, twenty of 
whom were present at this Conference. It was a gra- 
cious and memorable occasion. Asbury preached on the 
charge which our Lord gave to his apostles, which was 
peculiarly appropriate to their circumstances, " Behold, 
I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves : be ye 
therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." 

Both the " public and private business was conducted 
with great harmony, peace, and love." As there ap- 
peared to be no prospect of a speedy termination of the 
contests between this country and Great Britain, several 
of the English preachers thought they would return 
home, if the way opened in the course of the year, and 
to provide against such an event a committee, consisting 
of five of the American preachers, viz. : Watters, Gatch, 
Drorngoold, Ruff, and Glendining, was appointed to act 
in the place of the general assistant, in case he should 
leave before the next Conference. It was also submitted 
whether, as few ministers were left in many of the pa- 
rishes to administer the Sacraments, the preachers should 



DARK DAYS. 



119 



not administer them themselves, and thus avoid being 
dependent upon other denominations for them ; for while 
the greater part received them from the Episcopal 
Church, some received them from the Presbyterians.* 
"In fact," says Watters, "we considered ourselves, at 
this time, as belonging to the Church of England, it be- 
ing before our separation and our becoming a regularly 
formed Church." After much conversation upon the 
subject, it was finally agreed unanimously to lay the 
question over until the next Conference. The Confer- 
ence ended with a watch-night and love-feast. Asbury 
says it was "a great time — a season of uncommon affec- 
tion." "I never saw," says Waiters, "so affecting a 
scene, at the parting of the preachers, before. Our 
hearts were knit together, as the hearts of David and 
Jonathan, and we were obliged to use great violence to 
our feelings in tearing ourselves asunder. This was the 
last time I ever saw my very worthy friends and fathers, 
Rankin and Shadford." 

At this Conference Henry Kennedy and Thomas 
M'Clure were appointed to New Jersey, which still re- 
mained one circuit. Kennedy's name appears on the 
minutes, for the first time, this year, and after being ap- 
pointed to Caroline the following year, he must have de- 
sisted from traveling, as his name disappears from the 

* Life of Watters. 



120 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

minutes ; but in Asbury's Journal of April 14, 1780, it 
is written, " Thomas M'Clure is confined sick in Phila- 
delphia, Henry Kennedy and William Adams* are dead; 
so the Lord cuts off the watchmen of Israel. But sure I 
am that it is better to die early than to live, though late, 
to dishonor God." M'Clure was admitted on trial at the 
Conference of 1776, and appointed to Fairfax, the next 
year he was sent to New Jersey and the year following 
to Baltimore. In 1779 he was appointed to Kent cir- 
cuit. In 1780 his name does not appear in the minutes. 
In 1781 he was appointed to Somerset, and in 1782 his 
name is again absent from the minutes. Asbury speaks 
of him in a way which indicates that he sustained a very 
respectable position in our early ministry. 

At the end of this year the members in the whole con- 
nection are reported in the aggregate, so that we cannot 
determine what was the number in New Jersey. The 
entire number of members, however, reported at the 
Conference of 1778, was six thousand and ninety-five, 
being an increase, in five years, for the whole Church, 
of five thousand nine hundred and thirty-five, an average 
of one thousand one hundred and eighty-seven a year. 
There were also twenty-nine traveling preachers in the con- 
nection, being an increase of nineteen in the same period. 

At the Conference of 1777, it was asked in Confer- 
ence, u As the present distress is such, are the preachers 
* Adams was brother-in-law to Watters. 



DARK DAYS. 



121 



resolved to take no step to detach themselves from the 
work of God for the ensuing year?" To which it was 
answered, " We purpose, by the grace of God, not to 
take any step that may separate us from the brethren, 
or from the blessed work in which we are engaged." 
None of the English preachers appear to have remained 
in the country longer than 1778, except Asbury. 

In 1778 the storm of the revolution raged so high 
that Asbury and Shadford agreed to make it a matter 
of prayer and fasting whether they should remain in this 
country or return to England. The latter concluded 
that it was his duty to leave the country, but Asbury be- 
lieved that the intimations of the Divine will to him were 
that he should remain ; accordingly he replied to Shad- 
ford, "If you are called to go, I am called to stay; so 
we must part." "From that moment," says Rev. E. 
Cooper, " he made America his home. He resolved to 
abide among us, and at the risk of all, even of life itself, 
to continue to labor and to suffer with and for his Ameri- 
can brethren. 

" Oppositions, reproaches, and persecutions rushed in 
against them, from every quarter in various forms, like 
a tempest and a flood. During the whole period of con- 
flict and danger his manner of life was irreproachable. 
His prudence and caution, as a man and a citizen; his 
pious and correct deportment, as a Christian and a min- 



122 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



ister, were such as to put at defiance the suspicious mind 
and the tongue of persecuting slander. They were 
never able to substantiate any allegation, or the appear- 
ance of a charge against him that was incompatible with 
the character of a citizen, a Christian, or a faithful min- 
ister of the gospel. He never meddled with politics. 
But in those days of suspicion and alarm, to get a 
preacher or a society persecuted they only had to excite 
suspicion, sound the alarm, and cry out, 6 Enemies to the 
country/ or, Tories.' The Methodists, at one period, 
were generally called tories by those who either knew 
not the people, or the meaning of the word." 

After giving some account of the persecutions inflicted 
upon the preachers in Maryland, the venerable Cooper 
says, " During those perilous times where was our As- 
bury ? How was he employed ? and what w T as the man- 
ner of his life? After having traveled and preached at 
large, with all the zeal, fidelity, and caution, which pru- 
dence and wisdom, situated and circumstanced as he was, 
could dictate ; he being greatly embarrassed and per- 
plexed, and, withal much suspected as an Englishman, 
had, at length, to retire, in a great measure, for a sea- 
son, until the indignation w T as overpast. The spirit of 
the times, the passions and the prejudices of the people, 
and the jealousies and suspicions subsisting against him 
as an Englishman, and as a principal Methodist preacher, 



DARK DAYS. 



123 



were such that he could not, with safety, continue to 
travel openly and at large. In the year 1778, when the 
storm was at its highest, and persecution raged furiously, 
he, being in serious danger, prudently and advisedly 
confined himself, for personal safety, chiefly to the little 
state of Delaware, where the laws were rather more fa- 
vorable, and the rulers and influential men were some- 
what more friendly, For a time he had, even there, to 
keep himself much retired. He found an asylum as 
his castle of safety, in the house, and with the hospitable 
family of his firm friend, Thomas White, Esq., one of the 
judges of the Court in Kent county, Delaware. He 
was a pious man, and his wife one of the holiest of wo- 
men ; they were great friends to the cause of religion, 
and to the preachers generally. From this place of re- 
treat and protection, as in a castle of repose and safety, 
he could correspond with his suffering brethren who were 
scattered abroad in different parts. He could also occa- 
sionally travel about, visiting the societies, and, some- 
times, preaching to the people. He was accessible to all 
the preachers and his friends who came to see him, so 
that by means of correspondence and of visits, they 
could communicate with each other for mutual counsel, 
comfort, and encouragement.''* 

In his journal Asbury makes the following statement: 

* Cooper on Asbury. 



124 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

"From March 10, 1778, on conscientious principles, I 
was a non-juror and could not preach in the state of Ma- 
ryland ; and therefore withdrew to the Delaware state, 
where the clergy were not required to take the state 
oath ; though, with a clear conscience, I could have taken 
the oath of the Delaware state, had it been required ; 
and would have done it, had I not been prevented by a 
tender fear of hurting the scrupulous consciences of oth- 
ers. Saint Paul saith, 6 When ye sin so against the 
brethren and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against 
Christ.' 1 Cor. viii. 12." 

The following passage from his journal of Sept. 15, 
1778, will indicate somewhat the nature of his feelings 
while confined in Delaware. " This was a day of pe- 
culiar temptations. My trials were such as I do not re- 
member to have experienced before ; and, for some time, 
it seemed as if I scarcely knew whether to fight or fly. 
My usefulness appeared to be cut off ; I saw myself pent 
up in a corner ; my body, in a manner, worn out ; my 
English brethren gone, so that I had no one to consult ; 
and every surrounding object and circumstance wore a 
gloomy aspect. Lord, must I thus pine away, and 
quench the light of Israel ? No ! though he slay me 
yet will I trust in him." His necessary seclusion was 
not spent in idleness. * " On the contrary," he says, 
" except about two months of retirement from the direst 



DARK DAYS. 



125 



necessity, it was the most active, the most useful, and 
the most afflictive part of my life." 

The Conference of 1778 was held at Leesburg, Va., 
on the 19th of May. Asbury was not present, and for 
prudential reasons, doubtless, his name does not appear 
on the minutes for that year. The fact of his being an 
Englishman "was enough with some," says Watters, 
" why he should be suspected as unfriendly to our cause 
and country, though I will venture to say that his great- 
est enemy could allege nothing else against him, nor 
even that with propriety." Daniel Ruff was the only 
traveling preacher appointed to labor in New Jersey, 
but Abbott was still laboring most energetically as a lo- 
cal preacher, and did more work probably, than is now 
performed by any regular Methodist clergyman in the 
state. His labors were productive of large and glorious 
results. It was probably not far from this year, and 
perhaps during it, that he attended a quarterly meeting 
at Morris River. It was a powerful season. "The slain," 
he says, "lay all through the house, and round it, and 
in the woods, crying to God for mercy ; and others 
praising God for the deliverance of their souls. At this 
time there came up the river a look-out boat ; the crew 
landed and came to the meeting-; one of them stood by 
a woman that lay on the ground crying to God for 

mercy, and said to her, ' Why do you not cry louder?' 
8 



126 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

She immediately began to pray for him, and the power 
of the Lord struck him to the ground, and he lay and 
cried for mercy louder than the woman. This meeting 
continued from eleven o'clock till night." 

At another appointment he attended, so great was the 
display of divine power among the people that many 
fell to the floor. Sinners sprang to the doors and win- 
dows and fell over one another in getting out ; five 
jumped out at a window, and the cries of the slain were 
very great. One woman went close by Abbott and 
cried, "You are a devil!" A young man cried out, 
" Command the peace !" but a magistrate who was pre- 
sent, answered, "It is the power of God." Another, 
with tears in his eyes, entreated the people to hold their 
peace; to which an old woman replied, " They cannot 
hold their peace, unless you cut their tongues." " Glory 
to God!" says Abbott, "this day will never be forgotten 
either in time or eternity. I was as happy as I could 
contain." He preached at a Mr. Smith's on Tuckahoe 
river and one fell to the floor. He then asked the peo- 
ple what they thought of such manifestations, and 
whether they did not think they were of the devil. "If 
it is of the devil," he said, "when she comes to she will 
curse and swear, but if it is of God, she will praise him." 
The people looked on in amazement while she lay strug- 
gling on the floor. At length she came to, praising the 



DARE DAYS. 127 

Lord with a loud voice, and declaring that God had 
sanctified her soul. Abbott then met the society and 
impressed sanctification upon them. A woman who had 
been fifteen years a professor of justification fell to the 
floor, and after some time arose and declared that the 
Lord had sanctified her soul. Abbott exhorted those 
around her to claim the promise, and while she was yet 
speaking six or seven were prostrated upon the floor. 

He threw open the doors and windows and called the 
wicked to come and witness for themselves the displays 
of divine power, telling them that if they would not be- 
lieve when such manifestations were given, they would 
not believe if God Almighty were to speak to them, as 
he did to Moses, in a flame of fire. Before the meeting 
closed, six or seven professed to obtain sanctification. 

The next morning he went to another place i4 and 
preached with great liberty." The meeting commenced 
at eleven o'clock and lasted until midnight. Before it 
was over seven professed to find peace, and joined the 
society. " Here I was as happy in my own soul,'" he 
says, "as I could wish either to live or die." On the 
day following, "I preached," he says, "at brother Hew's 
to a precious, loving people ; and as soon as I had 
kneeled down, before I had uttered one sentence, they 
all cried out, Amen. After preaching, in class ; I en- 
deavored to teach them the meaning and nature of the 

o 



128 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



term Amen." At one of his appointments, before 
preaching, he retired in secret. So mighty was the Di- 
vine influence that rested upon him, he lost the use of 
his physical powers, and " cried out" in such a manner 
that the people who had not seen the like before were 
alarmed. After recovering a little, he went and preached 
to them, and had a " precious time." 

Do any say, Abbott was a fanatic ? We reply, Was 
Tennent then a fanatic ? Was not he, the Presbyterian 
pastor of Freehold, the subject of exercises not dissimi- 
lar to those which Abbott experienced ? Before service 
one Sabbath morning, Tennent went into a grove near 
his Church, to commune with God, and so singularly and 
powerfully was he wrought upon, that, finding he did not 
come to address the waiting congregation, his elders 
sought him out and conveyed him to his pulpit, where 
he preached under the influence of this powerful baptism 
with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. Who ever 
dreamed of charging Tennent with fanaticism because 
he thus sank under the power of God? And why should 
Abbott, because to him was given so great an unction 
from the Holy One, be stigmatized with this charge ? A 
man possessed of an extraordinary faith and a bun/ng 
zeal which prompts him to abound in sacrifices and la- 
bors for God and humanity, especially if he be a Metho- 
dist, is exceedingly liable to the charge of fanaticism. 



PAKE DAYS 



129 



But it is not new. Many centuries ago was it said by a 
fit representative of a class who are swift to pass their 
judgment upon God's heroes, "Paul, thou art beside thy- 
self, much learning doth make thee mad." 

In 1779 there were two Conferences, one for the 
Northern and one for the Southern section of the work. 
The Northern Conference was held at the house of 
Thomas White, Esq., in Kent county, Delaware. All 
the preachers on the northern stations were present and 
united. "We had," says Asbury, '-much prayer, love, 
and harmony ; and we all agreed to walk by the same 
rule and to mind the same thing." At this Conference 
2s~ew Jersey was united with Philadelphia, and three 
preachers were appointed to the laborious field. They 
were Philip Cox, Joshua Dudley, and Daniel Ruff. 

Freeborn Garrettson visited Xew Jersey this year, 
where he labored a short time with considerable success. 
He says, i; I bless and praise my dear Lord for the pros- 
perous journey he gave me through the Jerseys: several 
were awakened, and some brought to know Jesus. One 
day, after preaching, an old man came to me and said 
all in tears, 4 This day I am an hundred and one years 
old, and this is my spiritual birth-day.' The dear man's 
soul was so exceedingly happy, that he appeared to be 
ready to take his flight to heaven. 

" I preached at a new place, where the congregation 



130 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IX NEW JERSEY. 

consisted mostly of young people, from, £ The Son of 
man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.' 
Luke xix. 10. We had a wonderful display of the power 
of the Lord. After I had finished, the young people 
hung around each other, crying for mercy ; and I be- 
lieve many will praise the Lord eternally for that day." 

Asbury records in his journal this year a remarkable 
account of the case of Achsah Bordex, who appeared 
to be possessed of a dumb spirit. "From her child- 
hood," he says, " she was attentive to reading her Bible, 
and ofttimes had serious thoughts of eternity ; one day, 
reading and meditating, an uncommon light and comfort 
flowed into her heart. Her soul cried out, i Sweet 
Jesus !' and was convinced Christ was her Saviour; her 
friends observing for a season that she was very serious 
feared a melancholy ; which to prevent, they gathered 
their friends and neighbors, with music and dancing, 
thinking to arouse her (as they said) from her stupidity, 
or charm off her religious frenzy. Through various 
temptations she was prevailed upon to go into company, 
of course, into sin. She lost her comfort, and afterward 
fell into deep distress. She had heard of the Method- 
ists, and was anxious to go to them that they might pray 
for her. Those with whom she was, paid no regard to 
her importunity, but locked her up in a room, and or- 
dered all the knives to be taken away. She knew their 



DARK DAYS. 131 

meaning, but says she was under no temptation to de- 
stroy or lay violent hands upon herself. Soon after this 
her speech failed her, so that she only spoke half sen- 
tences, and would be stopped by inability ; but by grasp- 
ing anything hard in her hand, she could speak with dif- 
ficulty and deliberation ; but soon lost this power, and a 
dumb spirit took perfect possession of her ; she said then 
it was impressed on her mind, ' The effectual and fervent 
prayer of a righteous man availeth much.' She heard 
the Methodists were a people that prayed much, and 
still retained her desire to go amongst them, and by 
signs made it known to her friends. And after about 
one year's silence, her mother was prevailed upon to go 
with her to New Mills, New Jersey, (about thirteen miles 
distant,) where there was a society and meeting-house ; 
they knew no Methodists, nor could get any one to tell 
them where to find any, notwithstanding they were now 
in the midst of them. Satan hindered ; inquiry was 

made among the B ts, who knew the Methodists, of 

whom we might have expected better things. They re- 
turned home, and after another year's waiting in silence, 
by signs her mother was persuaded to come to New Mills 

again ; they fell in with the B ts again, but turning 

from them, with much difficulty, and some hours' wan- 
dering, they found one to direct them. They went where 
a number were met for prayer ; the brethren saw into 



132 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



her case, believing it was a dumb spirit, and that God 
"would cast him out. Prayer was made part of three 
days; the third day at evening she cried for mercy, 
soon spoke and praised God from a sense of comforting, 
pardoning love. During the two years of her silence, 
she would not work at all, nor do the smallest thing." 

Garrettson, in his journal, gives an account of this 
case, though he does not give her name ; but there can 
be no doubt of its being the same person, notwithstanding 
there is a slight difference in some points between the two 
statements; yet substantially they agree. Mr. Garrett- 
son says she was a young woman, brought up a Quaker, 
and that Mr. Ruff, one of the preachers, was present 
when she presented herself to the society. He says, 
" Sometime after, I came into this neighborhood and sent 
word to her mother I would preach such a day at her 
house. Yflien the day arrived I took the young woman 
home, accompanied by many friends, and we were re- 
ceived like angels ; some thought the Methodists could 
work miracles. Many of the friends and neighbors 
came, and could not but observe how angelic this young 
woman appeared to be ; who was now r able to speak and 
work as well as usual. I bless the Lord who gave me 
great freedom in preaching on this remarkable occasion. 
The people seemed to believe every word which was de- 
livered, and a precious, sweet season it was. The old 



DARK DAYS. 



133 



lady was ready to take us in her arms, being so happy, 
and so well satisfied with respect to her daughter.'' 

At the end of this year there were one hundred and 
forty members in New Jersey, which was a decrease in 
the two years last past of twenty. Yet from the slight 
information we obtain concerning its progress, we infer 
that the cause assumed a more encouraging and favora- 
ble appearance during the year. On the 7th of October, 
Bishop Asbury, in his journal, says, "I received a letter 
from brother Ruff ; he says the work deepens in the Jer- 
seys." Again on the 24th of April, 1780, he says, 
" Received three epistles from the Jerseys, soliciting 
three or four preachers, with good tidings of the work 
of God reviving in those parts. The petitioners I shall 
hear with respect." 

Those few words tell of prosperity, and they are about 
all we are able to learn in regard to the general condi- 
tion of the work this year, with the exception of what is 
indicated by the report of members given at the Confer- 
ence. It is evident that though there was strong oppo- 
sition against them, and their discouragements were 
great, the zeal of these earnest Christian ministers and 
Methodist heroes did not flag, but in the face of obsta- 
cles sufficient to cause the stoutest heart to shrink, un- 
less it were nerved by an apostle's faith, they bravely 



134 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

prosecuted their labors, praying for and expecting suc- 
cess. 

Philip Cox was a native of Frooine, Somersetshire, 
England. He must have been converted about the year 
1774, as Philip Gatch speaks of preaching at a certain 
place when he traveled Kent circuit, that year, and says, 
"At this place Philip Cox, who afterward became a 
useful preacher, was caught in the gospel net." He 
must have entered the itinerant connection in the year 
1778, as at the Conference of 1779 he was among the 
number that were continued on trial. In 1780 he was 
sent to Fairfax, Va., and in 1781 to Little York. His 
subsequent appointments, so far as known, were as fol- 
lows : — In 1782 and 1783 Frederic and Annamessex 
Md. ; 1784, Long Island; 1785, Northampton, Md. ; 
1786-7-8, Brunswick, Sussex, and Mecklenberg, in Va. 

On this last circuit he had for his colleague the Rev. 
Wm. M'Kendree, who was in his first year in the ministry. 
In 1789 he received the appointment of Book Steward 
and was reappointed to the office in 1790. We are not 
able to ascertain his appointments for the last three years 
of his life. While Mr. Cox traveled as book steward, 
Enoch George, who subsequently became bishop, com- 
menced traveling with him. Cox treated his young 
companion with paternal kindness, for which the latter 
cherished, it is said, a sense of lifelong obligation. 



DARK DAYS. 



135 



Shortly after he commenced preaching, 'while traveling 
with Mr. Cox. they met Bishop Asbnry. Cox said to 
the bishop. "I have brought you a boy, and if you have 
anything for him to do you may set him to work." As- 
bury looked at him for some time, and at length called 
him to him, and laying his head upon his knee, and 
Stroking his face with his hand, said, Why he is a 
beardless boy and can do nothing.'' George then thought 
his traveling was at an end. but the next day the bishop 
accepted his services and appointed him to a circuit.* 

Mr. Cox was a man of very small stature. At one 
time he felt badly and concluded 10 retire from the field. 
But on being weighed he found his weight amounted to 
an hundred pounds. He then remarked, i; It shall 
never be said I quit traveling while I weigh an hundred 
weight. "f 

He was eminently successful as a minister of Jesus 
Christ. When he traveled Sussex circuit in Virginia, in 
1787, the people were converted in multitudes. Having 
hurt a limb he had resolved to take a day's rest, but be- 
ing sent for to attend the funeral of a little child, he 
went and spoke to a congregation of a hundred persons 
from the words, " Except ye be converted and become 
as little children, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of 
heaven/' Although he was compelled to preach sitting 
* Heroes of Methodism. file's Hist, of Methodists. 



136 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

upon a table, and fifty of his auditors were old professors, 
thirty of the other fifty professed to find peace before 
the close of the meeting. The next day he sat in a 
chair on a table in the woods and preached, when " above 
sixty souls were set at liberty." At another time, at a 
Quarterly meeting held in Sussex circuit, he says ; " Be- 
fore the preachers got there the work broke out, so that 
when we came to the chapel, above sixty were down on 
the floor, groaning in loud cries to God for mercy. Bro- 
ther 0' Kelly tried to preach, but could not be heard 
for the cries of the distressed. It is thought our audi- 
ence consisted of no less than five thousand the first 
day, and the second day of twice that number. We 
preached to them in the open air, and in the Chapel, 
and in the barn by brother Jones' house, at the same 
time. Such a sight my eyes never saw before, and never 
read of, either in Mr. Wesley's Journals, or any other 
writings, concerning the Lord's pouring out the Spirit, 
except the account in Scripture of the day of Pentecost. 
Never, I believe, was the like seen since the apostolic age : 
hundreds were at once down on the ground in bitter cries 
to God for mercy. Here were many of the first quality 
in the country wallowing in the dust with their silks and 
broadcloths, powdered heads, rings, and ruffles, and some 
of them so convulsed that they could neither speak nor 
stir ; many stood by, persecuting, till the power of the 



DARK DAYS. 137 

Lord laid hold of them, and then they fell themselves, 
and cried as loud as those they had just before perse- 
cuted. We are not able to give a just account how 
many were converted, and as we had rather be under 
than over the just number, we believe that near two hun- 
dred whites and more than half as many blacks professed 
to find Him of whom Moses and the prophets did write." 

It was believed that nearly two hundred whites and 
more than half as many blacks professed to receive for- 
giveness of sins at this meeting.* In his Journal, Jan- 
uary 8th, 1788, Bishop Asbury says, " Brother Cox 
thinks that not less than fourteen hundred, white and 
black, have been converted in Sussex circuit the past 
year." Rev. Philip Bruce, in a letter published in the 
Arminian Magazine (American), dated nearly three 
months later, says : "Brother Cox informs me, that be- 
tween twelve and fifteen hundred whites have been con- 
verted in his circuit, besides a great number of blacks." 

The last services of Mr. Cox were great, it is said, in 
circulating books of religious instruction. 

The methodist preachers of that day were not content 
merely to preach the truth, but encouraged the people to 
read religious books, regarding the latter as a most im- 
portant auxiliary to the former. Instead of being op- 
posed to the spread of knowledge among the people, the 

* Arminian Magazine, vol. ii. pp. 92-3. 



138 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

preachers of the Methodist Episcopal Church have done 
more, probably, than any other single body of men, to 
promote the cause of literature and learning, by their 
example and their direct personal labors. By placing 
good books in the hands of the people, they were instru- 
mental in settling and fortifying the faith of those who 
were converted by their preaching, and of saving many 
more, perhaps, who would not have been reached by their 
public ministry. 

Mr. Cox was delirious in his last illness, but on Sun- 
day, a week preceding his death, he said, " that it was 
such a day of peace and comfort to his soul as he had 
seldom seen." He died in peace on the Sunday follow- 
ing, the 8th of September, 1793. He was a man of 
great spirit, quick apprehension, and sound judgment. 

He who was instrumental in turning so " many to 
righteousness' ' must have a brilliant coronet of stars in 
the day of the Lord Jesus. 

Joshua Dudley must have traveled in 1778, as at 
the Conference of 1779, at which he was appointed to 
the Philadelphia and New Jersey circuit, he was contin- 
ued on trial, though his name does not previously appear 
in the minutes. In 1780 he was sent to Baltimore ; in 
1781 to Amelia ; in 1782 to West Jersey ; in 1783 his 
name is not in the minutes. At this period, the ques- 
tion, "Who have located this year?" was not asked ia 



DARK DAYS. 



139 



the minutes, and consequently when preachers, on ac- 
count of ill health or for any other reason, desisted from 
traveling, there is no mention made of the fact. 

Mr. Dudley could not have remained very long upon 
the circuit this year, as in September he was employed 
in Delaware. On the ninth of that month, Asbury 
writes, <; I was unwell and was relieved by Joshua Dud- 
ley who took the circuit.'' Nine days afterward he 
writes, " Brother Dudley being detained by his father 
being sick, brother Cooper is come in his place.'' 

He received still another appointment before the close 
of the Conference year, as on the fourth of March 1780, 
Asbury records in his Journal that he had appointed 
Joshua Dudley for Dorset. He evidently occupied an 
honorable position as a preacher, but our information 
concerning him is excedingly meagre. When he trav- 
eled in New Jersey, Benjamin Abbott heard him preach, 
and he has left the very brief tribute to his effectiveness 
as a preacher, which is as follows : i: The next appoint- 
was made at J. D's., for brother Dudley; ho came and 
preached with power. "* 

Thus have we passed the first decade in the history of 
Jsew Jersey Methodism. We have witnessed its rise, its 
reverses, and at the same time some of its noblest tri- 

* Life of Abbott, p. 81. 



140 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



umphs in rescuing souls from the dark depths of guilt, 
who otherwise, perhaps, would never have been reached 
by redemptive agencies. With this decade passed its 
severest and darkest days, and though the progress of 
the movement appears inconsiderable, yet during this 
time the foundations were slowly but securely laid on 
which has since been reared that beautiful and majestic 
temple which is now the spiritual refuge of forty thou- 
sand souls. 

The sufferings and labors of the preachers during this 
decade were great. They literally had no certain dwell- 
ing place but went to and fro, everywhere encountering 
hardship and obloquy, in order that they might save re- 
deemed but perishing men. The societies were few, and 
feeble both in numbers and means, and were nearly all 
without churches. This last fact alone was a formidable 
obstacle to the advancement of the cause. One of the 
arguments employed by the opponents of the movement 
was that as the Methodists were without houses of wor- 
ship and were not able to build, they would soon dwindle 
away, and by this means much of the fruit of Methodist 
toil and sacrifice was appropriated by other sects.. Still, 
many in the face of poverty and reproach adhered to 
the Church which had travailed in birth for them. One 
whose devotion was unswerving, in reply to the predic- 
tion that the Methodists would soon become extinct, said, 



DARK DAYS. 



141 



" Well, if they do come to nothing, as long as I live 
there will be one left." Both the preachers and people 
were looked upon as fanatics, as deceivers of the people, 
and tories ; yet in the midst of all God was with them, 
and through him they originated influences which are 
still potent with Omnipotent energy, and which will con- 
tinue to bless and elevate humanity until the final vic- 
tories of the militant Church shall be celebrated in the 
endless hallelujahs of the heavens. 



3 



142 MEMORIALS OE METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



CHAPTER VI. 

METHODISM IN NEW MILLS. 

In the year 1826, the name of this village was 
changed from that of New Mills to Pemberton, but as 
during the period embraced in this volume it was New 
Mills, we shall use that name only. 

There has long been a tradition that the first Method- 
ist society in New Jersey was formed in that village, but 
fidelity to the facts of history requires us to say that 
this tradition is without foundation. It is justly claimed 
by the tradition that the society was formed there in the 
year 1772, Methodism having been introduced during 
that year by Mr. Asbury. His first recorded visit there 
was in the early part of that year. In his Journal he 
says it was on the thirtieth and thirty-first days of Feb- 
ruary, overlooking the fact, doubtless, that February has 
never thirty days. This of course was merely a slip of 
the pen. 

We have already shown that both the Burlington and 



METHODISM IN NEW MILLS. 



143 



Trenton societies were formed previously to the year 
1772, the former having been formed on the 14th of De- 
cember, 1770, and the latter in 1771. New Mills must 
therefore rank, at most, as the third society in point of 
time in New Jersey. 

Ex-Gov. Fort of New Jersey, in a private note says, 
" The tradition was that the M. E. Church there was the 
first in the State and the third in the United States, in 
point of time. John Street, N. Y., being first; a Church 
in Maryland (Strawbridge's), second; and New Mills, 
third." This agrees with an article published by Gov. 
Fort in the Christian Advocate and Journal of February 
14, 1834, in which he claims that the Church at New 
Mills was "the first Methodist meeting-house erected in 
the State." I am exceedingly sorry to dispel this pleas- 
ing illusion, which has been fondly cherished in many a 
devout heart, and transmitted from parent to child for 
perhaps three-fourths of a century, and I would not do 
it, did not candor require that I should present the facts 
of history as they are. 

Asbury speaks of seeing the foundation of a Church 
laid in New Jersey in April, 1773. This could not have 
been the Church at New Mills, because its dimensions 
were not the same as those of the New Mills Church, and 
it is not claimed that that Church was built before the 
year 1774, Asbury gives explicitly the dimensions of 



144 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

both these Churches. The former was 35 by 30 feet, 
and the latter (New Mills) was 36 by 28 feet. On Sat- 
urday and Sunday the fourth and fifth of May, 1776, 
Asbury was at New Mills, and says he " found brother 
W. very busy about his Chapel." The Church w T as then 
built, as he preached in it at that time, but from this re- 
mark it would appear that it was not yet finished. The 
deed of purchase, says Gov. Fort, is dated the 31st of 
December, 1774, the very last day of that year. The 
evidence arising from a comparison of these dates, and 
the dimensions of the Churches, appears conclusive in fa- 
vor of the priority of the former. Evidence adduced 
in a foot note on page 53 appears to fix the location 
of that Church at Trenton. 

There is considerable ground for the opinion that 
there was a Church built in New Jersey at a period still 
earlier than this. Methodism was introduced at an 
early period into the township of Greenwich, Gloucester 
county, and on the 14th of May, 1772, Asbury, being 
in that locality, says, "Went to the new Church. 
Surely the power of God is amongst this people. Af- 
ter preaching with great assistance I lodged at Isaac 
Jenkins's, and in the morning he conducted me to 
Gloucester ; and thence we went by water to Philadel- 
phia."* 

* See Asbmys Journal, vol. i. p. 30. 



METHODISM IN NEW MILLS. 



145 



That this was a Methodist Church is probable from the 
fact that he speaks of it in connection with the power 
of God being amongst the people, and with preaching 
there with great assistance. None will question, I sup- 
pose, that the people who were thus distinguished for 
their spirituality were Methodists, and if not, I know 
not how it can be questioned that this "new Church'' 
was built by that people. Had it been any other than 
a Methodist Church it does not seem probable that As- 
bury would have mentioned it in the connection he does 
in his Journal, or if he did, it would seem probable that 
he would have said something to indicate that it was not 
a Methodist Church. The evidence thus presented sup- 
ports, we think, the following positions, viz : 

1. That the first Methodist meeting-house, or Church, 
in New Jersey was built in the township of Greenwich, 
Gloucester county. 

2. That the second Church in the state was built in 
Trenton in the year 1773. 

3. That the third Methodist Church in New Jersey 
was built in New Mills in 1775. Gov. Fort says it was 
built in 1774, but as he also says the deed of purchase 
bears date of Dec. 31, 1774, and as Asbury speaks of 
finding it in an unfinished condition in 1776, we are in- 
clined to the opinion that 1775 was most probably the 
year in which it was built. Still, allowing it to have 



146 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

been built in 1774, it must yet rank as the third Church 
erected by Methodists in the province. 

Although New Mills cannot claim the priority which 
tradition has assigned it, it can claim the more import- 
ant and enviable honor of having been for years a 
strong-hold of Methodism in New Jersey. Some of the 
mightiest battles which distinguished the early history 
of American Methodism were fought there, and some of 
its sublimest victories were w T on. Most of the preachers 
of note, during the first years of its history, preached in 
this Church ; among whom were Asbury, Captain Webb 
Thomas Rankin, Strawbridge, Gill, Garrettson, Abbott 
and others. 

The original trustees of the Church were John Budd, 
Eli Budd, Andrew Heisler, Samuel Budd, Peter Shiras, 
Jonathan Budd, Daniel Heisler, Joseph Toy, and Lam- 
bert Willmore. " They were only to permit the Rev. 
John "Wesley, or the ministers delegated by him, to 
preach in it. After his death the like privilege was ex- 
tended to the Rev. Charles Wesley, and after the death 
of the latter, to the ' yearly Conference of London and 
North America.'"* 

When Asbury preached his first sermon there, one of 
the above mentioned trustees heard it, and " remarked 
that he was a great preacher, but was afraid he might 

* Ex Gov. Fort's article in Ch. Advocate aud Jn% Feb. 14, 1834. 



METHODISM IX NEW MILLS. 



147 



be one of the false prophets. Such was the prejudice 
against Methodism at that time. Nevertheless numbers 
flocked to hear him ; some from curiosity, some with evil, 
others with good intent, and many, through his instru- 
mentality and of those who followed him, became sub- 
jects of converting grace ; among the rest, the trustee 
and his associates."* 

Daniel Heisler, one of the first trustees, came from 
Holland and settled on a farm near New Mills. He was 
the great grandfather of Hon. George F. Fort, and of 
Rev. J. P. Fort of the Newark, and of Revs. John Fort 
and John S. Heisler of the New Jersey Conference. 
The first represented Methodism for three years in 
the Executive chair of the State, while the last named 
are worthy and useful ministers in the Church. 

Captain Webb was so imprudent when in this country 
in speaking against the opposition of the colonies to 
Great Britain, that he was compelled, it is said, to con- 
ceal himself for some months in the premises of a re- 
puted tory near New Mills, before he could make his es- 
cape to England. f 

The fame of Abbott reached New Mills at an early 
period in his ministry, and they sent for him to visit 
them. He accordingly went, though he was but a local 

* Ex Gov. Fort's article in Ch. Advocate and Jnl. Feb. 14, 1834. 
t Raybold's Reminiscences of Methodism in West Jersey, p. 107. 



148 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

preacher, laboring without pecuniary reward, and the 
distance from his home in Salem county was about sixty 
miles. The first time he preached there, " God worked 
powerfully," he says. There was considerable weeping 
and one fell to the floor. This alarmed the people, as 
they had never seen such demonstrations before. " Next 
day," he says, "I preached, and the Lord poured out 
his spirit among us, so that there was weeping in abun- 
dance, and one fell to the floor : many prayers being 
made for him, he found peace before he arose. He is a 
living witness to this day. [Probably a number of years 
afterward.] I saw him not long since, and we had a 
precious time together." 

He attended at another time a Quarterly meeting in 
New Mills. He says: " After our meeting had been 
opened and several exhortations given, brother C. Cotts 
went to prayer, and several fell to the floor, and many 
were affected, and we had a powerful time. After meet- 
ing, brother J. S. and several others went with me to I. 
B.'s, where we tarried all night. Here we found a wo- 
man in distress of soul ; after prayer, we retired to bed. 
In the morning brother S. went to prayer, and after him, 
myself. The distressed woman lay as in the agonies of 
death near one hour; when she arose, she went into 
her room to prayer, and soon after returned and pro- 
fessed faith in Christ. She and her husband went with 



METHODISM IN NEW MILLS. 



149 



us to brother XL's, where about forty persons had assem- 
bled to wait for us in order to have prayer before we 
parted, As soon as I entered the house, a woman en- 
treated me to pray for her, and added, ; I am going to 
hell, I have no God.' I exhorted her and all present, 
setting before them the curses of God's law against sin ; 
and likewise I applied the promises of the gospel to the 
penitent ; then a young woman came to me and said, 
4 Father Abbott, pray to God to give me a clean heart.' 
I replied, ' God shall give you one this moment.' How 
I came to use the word shall, I know not, but she 
dropped at that instant into my arms as one dead. I 
then claimed the promises and cried to God, exhorting 
them all to look to God for clean hearts, and he would 
do great things for them, at which about twenty more 
fell to the floor. When the young woman came to, she 
declared that God had sanctified her soul. 1 saw her 
many years after, and her life and conversation adorned 
the Gospel. Prayer was kept up without intermission 
for the space of three hours ; eight souls professed sanc- 
tification, and three Indian women justification in Christ 
Jesus." 

The Church at New Mills, during the first years of 
its existence enjoyed remarkable prosperity. Y\ T illiam 
Watters returned to New Jersey in the spring of 1782 
to visit his friends there, and he says : 



150 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



" At the New Mills, I thought it very extraordinary ; 
seven years before I left a large society, and now found 
all alive, and but one of them had in that time left the 
society, while they had become double or treble the num- 
ber!"* This testimony speaks much for the stability 
and devotion of its early members. 

Jacob Heisler was one of the first members of the 
Church in New Mills. When he united with the society 
there were but four in class beside himself. He was but 
sixteen years of age when he experienced religion. He 
assisted in building the first Church in New Mills, and 
lived to see it decay, and another larger and better oc- 
cupying its place, and its membership greatly in- 
creased. Having fought the good fight for sixty years, 
he made a glorious and happy exit to heaven on the 17th 
of August, 1834, in the 76th year of his age. 

"He was a sample of primitive Methodism," says 
Gov. Fort in an obituary sketch, "in the discharge of his 
duties, and in his conduct as a Christian and a man. 
He was alike punctual in attendance on public worship, 
family prayer, and reading God's holy word. He dis- 
charged with fidelity and success the active duties of a 
trustee, class leader, and exhorter for a number of years. 
Amid all his difficulties, trials, and severe afflictions, 
which to use his own language, ' equaled if not exceeded 

* Life of Waiters. 



METHODISM IX NEW MILLS. 



151 



those of Job/ he never lost his confidence in God, nor 
did religion cease to be his ' chief concern.' He passed 
through them all with almost unexampled patience and 
resignation. As the period of dissolution approached, 
his piety shone brighter, his love grew warmer, his zeal 
increased, and his whole soul seemed more impressed 
with the image of the living God. About a week before 
his death, he told me that his bodily afflictions were so 
great he could not realize that fullness of joy and spirit- 
ual comfort which he earnestly desired ; but still all was 
calm and peace within." 

In a private letter Gov. Fort remarks concerning him 
as follows : — " Jacob Heisler was a man of remarkable 
piety. I have often heard him, when quite a child, 
speak in class and love-feast. He obeyed the apostolic 
injunction, to ' pray without ceasing,' nearer than any 
man I ever knew. He prayed seven times a day habit- 
ually in family and private, had strong emotions, and 
enjoyed the blessing of perfect love. He was always 
ready for death, walked with God as Enoch, and often 
made me think he would, like Enoch, not taste death." 



152 MEMORIALS OE METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



CHAPTER VII. 

JAMES STERLING. 

Foremost among the most honored and distinguished 
laymen of his time was James Sterling, a man who was 
identified with New Jersey Methodism for nearly half a 
century. 

He was born in Ireland in the year 1742, but came to 
this country when very young. His mother was a mem- 
ber of the Presbyterian Church, and her godly example 
and admonitions produced religious impressions on his 
mind at an early age. As he grew up, however, he fell 
into gay and trifling company, and imbibed the spirit 
and adopted the practices of the vain world, thus illus- 
trating the Scripture declaration that " evil communica- 
tions corrupt good manners." 

He was trained to the business of a merchant by his 
uncle, James Hunter of Philadelphia, to whom he was 
much indebted for his success in life. Having reached 
the age in which it seemed expedient that he should en- 



JAMES STERLING. 



153 



ter business for himself, he removed to Burlington, New 
Jersey, and established himself as a merchant under the 
counsel and patronage of his uncle, depending, however, 
upon his own energy and industry for success. He 
withdrew from such society as was of questionable charac- 
ter, and formed such acquaintances as were likely to be 
of service to him. 

He married a Miss Shaw who was an Episcopalian, 
himself being a member of the Presbyterian church, but 
agreeing to avoid all contention about differences of 
opinion in religion, they established the worship of God 
in their family, and maintained the form of godliness 
though for some time they remained without its power. 

About the year 1771 he heard Mr. Asbury preach, and 
was brought under deep conviction of sin. He now be- 
came a constant hearer of the Methodist preachers, and 
soon joined the society, and for a considerable time he 
was connected with both the Methodist and the Presby- 
terian Churches. When the Revolutionary struggle com- 
menced, he held the office of justice of the peace under 
the royal authority, " but when the government of England 
declared that the Colonies were no longer under his 
Majesty's protection, he very justly concluded that where 
there was no protection there could be no obligations 
to allegiance. He then took a decided and active part 
in the American cause as a firm and zealous whig. He 



154 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



"was the Captain of a company, and went with his com- 
pany to Staten Island and other places in the public 
service. He embarked his reputation, his fortune, and 
his all in the support of the Independence of the United 
States."* 

During the war his religious fervor abated, and his 
connection with the Methodist society ceased. But, not- 
withstanding he made no profession of vital religion, he 
preserved his attachment to the cause and followers of 
Christ. 

Having enjoyed prosperity in his business, he aban- 
doned " mercantile pursuits and bought a valuable farm 
in Salem county, and furnished it with stock and every- 
thing necessary to become a complete and great farmer. 
He moved on his farm with flattering anticipations," but 
not being contented in his new sphere of life he did not 
continue very long in it; but " about the close of the war 
he returned to Burlington and again went into the mer- 
cantile business where he continued to reside till the close 
of his valuable life." 

During his residence in Salem county he renewed his 
attention to spiritual concerns and was made the par- 
taker of a " peace that passeth all understanding." 

* "Obituary Notice of James Sterling, Esq., of Burlington, New 
Jersey, which was published in the American Daily Advertiser, 
(Philadelphia,) January 19, 1818." 



JAMES STERLING. 



155 



Benjamin Abbott, in his Life, p. 45, says, " On a Satur- 
day night I dreamed that a man came to meeting, and 
stayed in class, and spoke as I never had heard any one 
before. Next day James Sterling came to meeting, 
stayed in class, and spoke much as I had seen in my 
dream. After meeting I said to my wife, that was the 
very man I had seen in my dream, and the Lord would 
add him to his Church. Soon after he was thoroughly 
awakened and converted to God." Years after this 
event Mr. Abbott, speaking of Mr. Sterling, says, " He 
yet stands fast among us a useful and distinguished 
member, known by many of our preachers and mem- 
bers." Having obtained the knowledge of salvation by 
the remission of sins he had to endure a severe conflict 
in order to subdue his pride of spirit. He was a man of 
position and of fortune ; but the Methodist society there 
at that time was composed chiefly of persons in the 
humble walks of life, and was generally regarded with 
disrespect by the polite and refined world. " However, 
he humbled himself, or rather, was humbled by grace, 
and became and continued to be a member of the perse- 
cuted and reproached society, and the Lord blessed his 
soul very remarkably, and in such a gracious manner as 
he had never before experienced, with pardon, and peace, 
and joy in the Holy Spirit. He professed and no doubt 
possessed justifying grace by faith in his Lord and 



158 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



Saviour, the Spirit of grace bearing witness with his 
spirit, that he was born of God. He became very bold, 
zealous, and active in the cause of religion ; and he fre- 
quently spoke in public by way of exhortation, warning 
his fellow creatures to flee by repentance from the wrath 
to come, and to fly by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ for 
salvation. 

He yet continued to be a member for some time both 
of the Presbyterian and the Methodist connections. 
But about that time some objections were raised by a 
part of the Presbyterian Church Session to his continu- 
ing to be a member of both communities ; that if he con- 
tinued in the Methodist society, and to speak in public, 
by virtue of authority or permission from the Methodists, 
they objected to his communing with them ; and also they 
objected to some tenets which he held in opinion with the 
Methodists as true and Scriptural, which some of the 
Session considered as contrary to their Confession of 
Faith. The Session, however, was divided on these 
questions. Some were for his continuing among them 
as he had done ; others were for his not communing with 
them unless he left the Methodists. He had been re- 
commended to them in terms of high approbation in his 
certificate from a sister Church, and they had no charge 
of immorality against him, and were probably unwilling 
to part with him. Yet the foundation was laid in that 



JAMES STERLING. 



157 



dispute for him to leave the one or the other society for 
the sake of peace ; he therefore voluntarily made his 
election, or choice, to withdraw from the Presbyterians, 
as he had resolved to continue among the Methodists. 
Henceforward to the day of his death he was closely and 
firmly united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in 
fellowship and communion."* 

Probably no layman in the State ever did more to ad- 
vance the cause of religion and Methodism than Mr. 
Sterling. Not content with laboring for the cause in 
the community where he lived, he was accustomed to go 
abroad to aid in the work of God. He was a " true 
yoke fellow" of Abbott, and more than once they to- 
gether shook the gates of hell. One day Abbott had 
an appointment at the house of a Baptist. When he ar- 
rived the man of the house declined permitting him to 
preach on account of the offence which had been given 
him by a piece on baptism which one of the Methodist 
preachers had published. " I remained perfectly com- 
posed and easy," says Abbott, " whether I preached or 
not. Brother Sterling, who had met me here, reasoned 
the case with him until he gave his consent." Abbott 
then preached and "the people wept all through the 
house and the man of the house trembled like Belshaz- 
zar." 

* Obituary Xotice of James Sterling, Esq, of Burlington, X. J. 
10 



158 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



Abbott made a preaching tour in Pennsylvania, and 
his ministry produced its accustomed effect. At one of 
his appointments, "I met," he says, "with my worthy 
friend and brother in Christ, James Sterling, of New 
Jersey, whom I was glad to see, having written to him 
some days before and informed him how God was carry- 
ing on his work. In two days after he had received the 
account he met me here. We had a crowded house and 
the Lord laid to his helping hand; divers fell to the floor 
and some cried aloud for mercy. " After the people be- 
gan to recover from the physical suppression produced 
upon them, doubtless, by intense religious emotions, Ab- 
bott appointed a prayer-meeting at the house of a friend 
in the neighborhood. He says, " I gave out a hymn 
and brother S. [Sterling] went to prayer, and after him 
myself. I had spoken but a few words before brother S. 
fell to the floor." All in the house were prostrated 
shortly except Abbott and three other men. One of 
these was a Presbyterian, who opposed the work,, attrib- 
uting these marvelous phenomena to Satanic agency. 
Abbott arose and began to exhort, " and the two men," 
he says, " fell, one as if he had been shot, and then there 
was every soul down in the house except myself and my 
old opponent. Pie began immediately to dispute the 
point, telling me it was all delusion, and the work of 
Satan. I told him to stand still and see the salvation 



JAMES SLERLING. 



159 



of the Lord. As they came to they all praised God, 
and not one soul but what professed either to have re- 
ceived justification or sanctification, eight of whom pro- 
fessed the latter.' ' It thus appears that Mr. Sterling 
either enjoyed the blessing of sanctification previously 
to this time or he received it on this occasion. Our au- 
thorities do not determine which was the case. 

At one time he was subjected to the operations of the 
Spirit to such a degree that his physical powers entirely 
gave way, and the friends being alarmed called a physi- 
cian who treated him for a physical disorder, applying 
blisters, &c. When he recovered sufficiently he made 
known to them the cause of his being thus affected, as- 
suring them that it was the result of a powerful Divine 
influence and not an " infirmity of the flesh." 

He once went to Pott's Furnace where Abbott had an 
appointment and met him there. The place was re- 
markable for its wickedness, being in this respect, as 
Abbott affirmed, "next door to hell. 7 ' The furnace men 
and colliers swore they would shoot Abbott, but un- 
daunted by their threats he " went into the house and 
preached with great liberty." Some of the colliers were 
so deeply affected under the word that their blackened 
faces were streaked with the tears which streamed from 
their eyes. Mr. Sterling exhorted, and was very happy 
in declaring the truth. After meeting they went to a 



160 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

Mrs. Grace's at the forge* " The old lady took me by 
the hand," says Abbott, "and said, 6 1 never was so glad 
to see a man in the world, for I was afraid that some of 
the furnace men had killed you, for they swore bitterly 
that they would shoot you.'" At another time Mr. 
Sterling went into Maryland where Abbott was making 
one of his tours. They met at a Quarterly meeting 
which was held in a barn. Abbott preached on Sabbath 
morning and many cried aloud under the word and some 
fell to the floor. After the service he went to the house 
of a friend taking Mr. Sterling with him. On their ar- 
rival they were congratulated by the gentleman in a 
complimentary style, to which Mr. Sterling replied " as 
became the Christian and gentleman." At family wor- 
ship the kitchen door was opened so that the colored 
people, who assembled there in numbers, might partici- 
pate in the devotions without entering the parlor. Ab- 
bott announced a hymn and Mr. Sterling led them in 
prayer. When he ceased Abbott prayed. The power 
of the Lord was displayed in a wonderful manner among 
the colored people; "some," says Abbott, "cried aloud, 
and others fell to the floor, some praising God and some 
crying for mercy; after we had concluded, brother S. 
went among them, where he continued upward of one 
hour, exhorting them to fly to Jesus, the ark of safety." 
Mr. Sterling was, as the above acts show, an earnest 



JAMES STERLING. 



161 



and indefatigable Christian laborer. He felt a deep in- 
terest for the religious welfare of all classes, and though 
a man of wealth and position, he did not think it below 
his dignity to labor in a kitchen with, the enslaved child- 
ren of Ham, and point them to Him who is no respecter 
of persons, but who accepts all of every nation that fear 
Him and work righteousness. 

He was particularly devoted to the spiritual interests 
of his own household. He kept a watchful eye over 
those in his employ as well as over those to whom he 
sustained a more intimate and endearing relation. A 
rule of his house was that all who were able should at- 
tend Church on the Sabbath. When the hour of service 
arrived he was not only there himself, but it was his cus- 
tom to rise and look over the congregation to see if all 
the members of his family, which included his clerks 
and servants as well as his own children, were present ; 
and if not, when he returned home the absent ones were 
called to an account, and if they could render a satis- 
factory excuse it was well, but if not they received from 
their parent or employer, as the case might be, such a 
reproof and exhortation as they were not likely soon to 
forget. 

Mr. Sterling was a man of large benevolence, making 
his money as well as his time and energies subservient 
to the cause of religion. He contributed much during 



162 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IX XEW JERSEY. 

his life towards building Methodist houses of worship, 
and his Christian hospitality was unbounded. Twenty- 
four Methodist preachers, who were on their way to 
General Conference, stopped at a hotel in Burlington to 
spend the night. He heard of them being there, and 
immediately he proceeded to the place, introduced him- 
self and told them he desired them to repair to his house 
and spend the night. They inquired if it would be conve- 
nient for him to entertain so many at once. He replied, 
Perfectly, and as many more if it were necessary. Of 
course the clerical company exchanged their quarters at 
the hotel for the more genial accommodations of his at- 
tractive Methodist home. On Quarterly meeting occa- 
sions it was no uncommon thing for a hundred persons 
to dine at his house, and he frequently lodged as many 
as half that number at those times. 

In the obituary sketch of him, which is attributed to Rev. 
Ezekiel Cooper, it is said, ;i It is supposed and believed 
that he has entertained in his house and contributed to- 
wards the support of more preachers of the gospel than 
any other man in the State, if not in the United States ; 
and that he has done as much, if not more, in temporal 
supplies towards the support of religion, than any other 
man in the circle of our knowledge. In this work of 
benevolence he had been zealously, diligently, and regu- 
larly employed for about half a century. His heart, his 



JAMES STERLING. 



163 



purse, and his house were open to entertain, not only 
his acquaintances, but to show hospitality to strangers ; 
especially to those who came in the name of the Lord ; 
and particularly to the ministers of Jesus Christ, of any 
denomination, who were always made welcome under 
his roof, where, with his family, they found a hospitable 
home and a comfortable resting place. The writer 
speaks in part from his own observation and knowledge, 
for more than thirty years. 

" As a merchant and a man of business he was equaled 
by few. He conducted his affairs upon a large and ex- 
tensive scale with great diligence, perseverance, punctu- 
ality, and integrity for more than fifty years. Probably 
no other man in the State, and but few in the United 
States, ever transacted so much business in the mercan- 
tile line as he did ; nor with more honor and honesty, 
and general satisfaction to those with whom he had deal- 
ings. He was particularly distinguished as an extraor- 
dinary and supereminent man of business for more than 
half a century. 

" To take him all and in all perhaps his like we shall 
seldom see again. Not that we presume to intimate that 
he had no faults, or was without the infirmities of human 
nature which are the common lot- of man; but he was un- 
questionably an extraordinary man, in the several circles 
of his long, active, useful, and devoted life." 



164 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

He died firm in the faith of Christ, and in hope of a 
blissful and glorious immortality, on Tuesday, the sixth 
of January, 1818, in the 76th year of his age, after a 
long and painful illness "which he bore with great pa- 
tience and Christian resignation." In his will he re- 
quested that on his grave stone should be inscribed the 
following lines :— 

" Christ is to me as life on earth, 
And death to me is gain, 
Because I trust through him alone 
Salvation to obtain. " 

Mr. Sterling was the father of Mrs. Porter, the es- 
timable wife of Rev. John S. Porter, D.D. ; and the ex- 
cellent Robert B. Yard of the Newark Conference is 
his great-grandson, and the only one of his descendants 
whose life has been devoted to the ministry of the 
Church of which he was so long an ornament. 

HE RESTS FROM HIS LABORS AND HIS WORKS DO FOL- 
LOW HIM. 



DAWNING OF BRIGHTER DAYS. 165 



CHAPTER VIII. 

DAWNING OF BRIGHTER DAYS. 

The Conference of 1780 met in Baltimore the 24th 
of April. It was a most important and trying session. 
The Virginia preachers seemed determined to administer 
the ordinances themselves to their people, arguing that 
those who were instrumental in converting men by their 
ministry had a right to give them the Sacraments, not- 
withstanding they were without Episcopal Ordination. 
They had even gone so far as to appoint a Committee, 
who first ordained themselves and then proceeded to or- 
dain their brethren. The Northern preachers could not 
approve of this extraordinary measure, and at this Con- 
ference it was feared that the controversy would result 
in a division of the Church. Before the close of the 
session, however, the Conference appointed a Committee 
consisting of Asbury, Waiters, and Garrettson, to attend 
the Conference of the Southern preachers in Virginia, 
with a view to effect, if possible, a reconciliation. "But 



166 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IX NEW JERSEY. 



as nothing less than their suspending the administering 
the ordinances." says Watters, "could be the terras of 
our treaty with them, I awfully feared our visit- would be 
of little consequence ; yet I willingly went down in the 
name of God, hoping against hope." 

"We found," continues Watters, "our brethren as 
loving and as full of zeal as ever, and as fully determined 
on persevering in their newly adopted mode ; for to all 
their former arguments, they now added (what with 
many was infinitely stronger than all the arguments in 
the world), that the Lord approbated, and greatly blessed 
his own ordinances, by them administered the past year. 
We had a great deal of loving conversation with many 
tears ; but I saw no bitterness, no shyness, no judging 
each other. We wept, and prayed, and sobbed, but 
neither would agree to the other's terms. In the mean 
time I was requested to preach at twelve o'clock. As I 
had many preachers and professors to hear me, I spoke 
from the words of Moses to his father-in-law, 4 We are 
journeying unto the place of which the Lord said, I will 
give it you ; come thou with us and we will do thee 
good: for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel/ 

"After waiting two days, and all hopes failing of any 
accommodation taking place, we had fixed on starting 
back early in the morning; but late in the evening it was 
proposed by one of their own party in Conference, (none 



DAWNING OF BRIGHTER DAYS. 



167 



of the others being present,) that there should be a sus- 
pension of the ordinances for the present year, and that 
our circumstances should be laid before Mr. Wesley, and 
his advice solicited in the business; also that Mr. Asbury 
should be requested to ride through the different circuits 
and superintend the work at large. The proposal in a 
few minutes took with all but a few. In the morning, 
instead of coming off in despair of any remedy, we were 
invited to take our seats again in conference, where with 
great rejoicings and praises to God, we on both sides 
heartily agreed to the above accommodation. I could 
not but say, It is of the Lord's doing and it is marvel- 
ous in our eyes. I knew of nothing upon earth that 
could have given me more real consolation, and could 
not but be heartily thankful for the stand I had taken, 
and the part I had acted during the whole contest. I 
had by several leading characters, on both sides, been 
suspected of leaning to the opposite ; could all have 
agreed to the administering the ordinances, I should 
have had no objections ; but until that was the case, I 
could not view ourselves ripe for so great a change. In 

a letter received from Mr. , in the course of the 

year, he observed, amongst other things, nothing shakes 
Bro. — — like your letters. You will, I hope, continue 
to write and spare not. We now had every reason to 
believe that everything would end well, that the evils 



168 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

which had actually attended our partial division, would 
make us more cautious how we should entertain one 
thought of taking any step that should have the least 
tendency to so great an evil. It is an observation that 
I have seen in some of Mr. Wesley's works, None can 
so effectually hurt the Methodists as the Methodists. 
The more I know of Methodism, the more I am con- 
firmed in the correctness of the observation. The Lord 
make and keep us of one mind and heart." 

Let it not be said that this brief account of the settle- 
ment of this dispute, given by one of the chief actors 
in the scene, is irrelevant to our work. This was a mat- 
ter in which every section of the Church was interested. 
The prospect of a division was like a cloud of densest 
gloom, which spread itself over the whole horizon of the 
Church, and this amicable adjustment of the difficulty 
was as if the cloud gathered up its black folds and calmly 
rolled itself away without discharging against the palaces 
of Zion the terrible artillery which it concealed in its bo- 
som. The Church in New Jersey could not but blend 
its exultant notes with the thanksgivings of American 
Methodism at large, for so happy a deliverance from the 
direful catastrophe which threatened it. 

At this Conference the connection of New Jersey with 
Philadelphia ceased, and William Gill, John James, and 
Richard Garrettson were appointed to the State. None 



DAWNING OF BRIGHTER DAYS. 



169 



of the preachers however were appointed for a longer 
time than six months, as at the end of that period all 
were directed to change their field of labor. Who sup- 
plied the work the latter half of the year we are not able 
to tell, but according to Kev. Thomas Ware, George 
Mair volunteered this year to labor as a missionary in 
the eastern part of the State, in which for some time the 
Methodist preachers had not been permitted to travel. 
This was probably in the latter part of the year, as he 
was appointed by the Conference this year to Philadel- 
phia. His labors were productive of much good, and at 
the ensuing Conference two preachers were appointed to 
East Jersey. 

The condition of the country was not such this year 
as to render the prospects of religion much more favor- 
able than they had been during the war ; the American 
army of the North being quartered at Morristown in 
deep privation and distress, and the spirit of war being 
rife throughout the province. The winter was terribly 
severe, so that " the earth was frozen so deeply that in 
many places the ground opened in vast chasms, of several 
yards in length and a foot wide, and three and four feet 
deep." It was also difficult to obtain provisions; "the 
rivers, creeks, and other water ways were frozen almost 
to their bottom, so that oxen, and sleds loaded, passed 
over the water as on solid ground. The birds and the 



170 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



wild animals of the West Jersey forests died in vast 
numbers." Notwithstanding the unpropitiousness of the 
circumstances., the work advanced gloriously- this year, 
and a brighter day than it had ever known dawned upon 
the infant Methodism of the province. At the close of 
the year five hundred and twelve members were re- 
ported, which was an increase of three hundred and 
sixteen, and almost treble the number reported the pre- 
vious year. 

The tidings of the revival reached Asbury, who, in 
his Journal, says, "I rejoice to hear that the work of 
God is deepening and widening in the Jerseys." Shortly 
after he was in the province, where he was told " there 
is daily a great turning to God in new places, and that 
the work of sanctification goes on in our old societies." 

While in New Jersey he met with an old German wo- 
man with whose simplicity he was much pleased. She 
said she had " lived in blindness fifty years, and was at 
length brought to God by the means of Methodism." 
She was rejoicing, he says, in the perfect love of God; 
her children were turning to the Lord, w T hile she preached, 
in her way, to all she met. 

While in New Jersey this time he heard Benjamin Ab- 
bott. He says, " His words came with power, the peo- 
ple fall to the ground under him, and sink into a passive 
state, helpless, stiff, motionless. He is a man of uncom- 



DAWNING OF BRIGHTER DAYS. 171 

mon zeal, and (although his language has somewhat of 
incorrectness) of good utterance." Such is the opinion 
the sagacious and thoughtful Asbury has recorded con- 
cerning this " wonder of his generation," the most re- 
markable man, probably, in faith, zeal, and success, that' 
American Methodism has ever produced. 

William Gill stands first among the preachers ap- 
pointed to New Jersey this year. He was one of the 
greatest men of the Church in his day, and would have 
been great at any period in the cause. Lee mentions 
him in a very laudatory style as a man, a Christian, and 
a minister. Dr. Rush of Philadelphia warmly admired 
him, and is said to have remarked that William Gill was 
the greatest divine he had ever heard. He was a native 
of Delaware, and was admitted on trial by the Conference 
in 1777, and was appointed to Baltimore; in 1778 he 
was sent to Pittsylvania, in Virginia; in 1779, Fairfax; 
1781, Kent, Delaware; 1782, Sussex, Virginia; 1783, 
Little York ; 1784, Baltimore ; 1785-6, Presiding Elder 
in Maryland; 1787, he and John Hagerty were " El- 
ders" over a district which included only two " appoint- 
ments" — Philadelphia and Little York. In 1788 he 
was appointed to Kent circuit as preacher in charge, and 
before the next Conference he finished his labors and 
went to his reward. He was somewhat deficient in 
physical strength, but he possessed a keen, strong, and 



172 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

subtle intellect, a clear judgment, "and by those whose 
powers of vision were strong like his," says Mr. Ware, 
" he was deemed one of a thousand. But by the less 
penetrating his talents could not be appreciated, as he 
often soared above them. * * In conversation, which 
afforded an opportunity for asking questions and receiv- 
ing explanations on deep and interesting subjects, I 
have seldom known his equal.' ' He was a man of 
blameless deportment, possessed a meek spirit, and was 
"resigned and solemnly happy in his death." One of 
his cotemporaries, who knew him personally, says, " His 
death was truly that of a righteous man. After witness- 
ing a good confession, leaning upon the bosom of his 
God, he closed his own eyes, and sweetly fell asleep. 
This was characteristic of the man." Though a man of 
eminent abilities, it appears from a passing remark by 
Asbury, that in common with most Methodist preachers 
of his time, he was subjected to the stern discipline of 
poverty. Asbury says, " I feel for those who have had 
to groan out a wretched life, dependent on others— as 
Pedicord, Gill, Tunnell,* and others w T hose names I do 
not now recollect ; but their names are written in the 
book of life, and their souls are in the glory of God." 
Even a grave stone with an inscription sufficient to 

* These were all eminent ministers, and they each labored in New 
Jersey. 



DAWNING OF BRIGHTER DAYS. 



173 



designate his resting place was denied him. A person 
who visited his grave writes in the Christian Advocate: 
" He died in Chestertown, Kent Co., Md. ; and when a 
few more of the older men of this generation pass away 
the probability is no one will know the place of his sep- 
ulchre, as I was unsuccessful in endeavoring to persuade 
the Methodists there to erect at his grave only a plain 
head and foot stone ; but his record is on high." 

John James entered the Conference this year on trial, 
and the following year he was appointed to Amelia, in 
Virginia. In 1782 the question is asked in the minutes, 
" Who desist from traveling this year ?" and the answer 
is, "John James." Mr. Ware, in his Life, gives an ac- 
count of a preacher visiting Cumberland and Cape May 
during the time that East Jersey was inaccessible to 
Methodist laborers, and the editor of the book says he 
learned from Mr. Ware that the name of the preacher 
was James. As no other preacher of that name was ap- 
pointed at this period to New Jersey, nor indeed was in 
the traveling connection, the inference is that it was the 
colleague of Gill and Garrettson. Mr. Ware's account 
of his proceedings there is as follows : " His manner was 
to let his horse take his own course, and on coming to a 
house, to inform the family that he had come to warn 
them and the people of their neighborhood to prepare to 

meet their God ; and also to direct them to notify their 
11 



174 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

neighbors that on such a day one would, by Divine per- 
mission, be there to deliver a message from God to them, 
noting his appointment in a book kept for that purpose ; 
and then, if he found they were not offended, to sing 
and pray with them and depart. Some families were 
much affected, and seemed to hold themselves bound to 
do as he directed. Others told him he need give himself 
no further trouble, for they would neither invite their 
neighbors, nor open their doors to receive him if he 
came. 

" This course soon occasioned an excitement and 
alarm through many parts. Some seemed to think him 
a messenger from the invisible world. Others said, ' He 
is mad.' Many, however, gave out the appointments as 
directed ; and when the time came he would be sure to 
be there. By these means the minds of the people were 
stirred up, and many were awakened. While thus la- 
boring to sow the seed of the gospel, he came one even- 
ing to the house of Captain Sears, and having a desire 
to put up for the night, made application to the captain 
accordingly. Captain S. was then in the yard, sur- 
rounded by a number of barking dogs, which kept up 
such a noise that he could not at first hear what the 
preacher said. At this the captain became very angry, 
and stormed boisterously at them, calling them many 
hard names for which the preacher reproved him. When 



DAWNING OF BRIGHTER DAYS. 



175 



they became silent so that he could be distinctly heard, 
he renewed his request to stay over night. The captain 
paused a long time, looking steadily at him and then 
said, ' I hate to let you stay the worst of any man I ever 
saw ; but as I never refused a stranger a night's lodging 
in all my life, you may alight.' 

" Soon after entering the house, he requested a 
private room where he might retire. The family were 
curious to know for what purpose he retired, and con- 
trived to ascertain, when it was found that he was on his 
knees. After continuing a long time in secret devotion, 
he came into the parlor and found supper prepared. 
Captain Sears seated himself at table, and invited his 
guest to come and partake with him. He came to the 
table, and said, 6 With your permission, captain, I will 
ask the blessing of God upon our food before we par- 
take,' to which the captain assented. 

" During the evening the preacher had occasion to re- 
prove his host several times. In a few days the captain 
attended a military parade ; and his men, having heard 
that the man who had made so much noise in the country 
had spent a night with him, inquired of him what he 
thought of this singular person. 6 Do you ask what I 
think of the stranger ?' said he, ' I know he is a man of 
God.' ' Pray how do you know that, captain V inquired 
some. 'How do I know it?' he replied, 'I will tell 



176 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



you honestly — the devil trembled in me at his reproof.' 
And so it was. The evil spirit found no place to remain 
in his heart. I have spent many a comfortable night 
under the hospitable roof of Captain Sears. He lived 
long an example of piety — the stranger's host and com- 
forter, and especially the preacher's friend. By such 
means the work was commenced in this region, and 
spread among the people." 

Richard Garrettson probably entered the ministry 
in 1778, as in the minutes of 1779, in which his name 
first appears, he stands continued on triaL His travels 
in the work were quite extensive until 1783, when his 
name disappears from the minutes. He was a brother of 
Freeborn Garrettson, and is represented as having been 
a good and zealous man and a useful minister. In 1781 
he was sent to labor in Virginia, and towards the close of 
that Conference year Mr. Garrettson says, " I attended 
my brother Richard Garrettson's Quarterly meeting ; and 
we both had great freedom to preach the word, and a 
precious, powerful time. My brother traveled several 
days with me, and we had sweet times together." Af- 
terward he remarks, "I perceived that the Lord had 
blessed my brother Richard's labors in this place." 

George Mair was admitted on trial by the Confer- 
ence this year, and was appointed to Philadelphia, but, 
as we have seen, volunteered as a missionary to East 



DAWNING OF BRIGHTER DAYS 



177 



Jersey. He was "grave, undaunted," and "invincible 
to everything but truth." Mr. Ware describes a love- 
feast held by Mr. Mair, which affords a good illustration 
of his labors and success in that unpromising portion of 
the province which he had the bravery and zeal to enter. 
The account, without which our work would be incom- 
plete, is as follows :- — 

"In the year of our Lord 1780, when we were con- 
tending for independence, not with Great Britain alone, 
but with her Indian and Hessian mercenaries, and what 
was worse, with many of our fellow citizens who despised 
independence, or, in despair of obtaining it, had joined 
the enemy ; when our country was laid waste by fire and 
sword, and many hundreds who had embarked in the 
cause of freedom were perishing in captivity, with hun- 
ger and cold ; when many bosoms were agitated with the 
thoughts of revenge on our cruel and unnatural enemies, 
and resolved with independence to live or die — it was at 
such a time as this, when little was known, or thought, 
or said about the way to heaven, a missionary of the 
Methodist order volunteered for East Jersey, and was 
instrumental in producing a religious excitement of a 
very interesting character. Many who seemed to have 
forgotten that they were accountable creatures, and 
lived in enmity one with another on account of the part 
they had taken in the great national quarrel, were 



178 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

brought to follow the advice of St. Paul, 'Be ye kind 
one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, 
even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.' 

" Of this I saw a pleasing exhibition in a love-feast 
at a Quarterly meeting held by our missionary, Mr. 
George Mair, previous to his taking leave of his spiritual 
children in the north-west part of East Jersey. I saw 
there those who had cordially hated, lovingly embrace 
each other, and heard them praise the Lord who had 
made them one in Christ. The meeting was held in a 
barn, attended by several preachers, one of whom opened 
it on Saturday, and great power attended the word; 
many wept aloud, some for joy and some for grief ; many, 
filled with amazement, fled, and left room for the 
preachers to have access to the mourners, to pray with 
and exhort them to believe in the Lord Jesus, which 
many did, and rejoiced with great joy. Such a meeting 
I had never seen before. 

" Next morning we met early for love-feast. All that 
had obtained peace with God, and all who were seeking 
it, were invited, and the barn was nearly full. As few 
present had ever been in a love-feast, Mr. Mair explained 
to us its nature and design, namely, to take a little bread 
and water, not as a Sacrament, but in token of our 
Christian love, in imitation of a primitive usage, and 



DAWNING OF BRIGHTER DAYS. 



179 



then humbly and briefly to declare the great things the 
Lord had done for thern in having had mercy on them. 

"Mr, James Sterling, of Burlington, West Jersey, 
was the first who spoke, and the plain and simple narra- 
tive of his Christian experience was very affecting to 
many. After him, rose one of the new converts, a Mr. 
Egbert, and said, 6 1 was standing in my door, and saw a 
man at a distance, well mounted on horse-back, and as 
he drew near I had thoughts of hailing him to inquire the 
news ; but he forestalled me by turning into my yard 
and saying to me, "Pray, sir, can you tell me the way to 
heaven ?" " The way to heaven, sir ; we all hope to get 
to heaven, and there are many ways that men take." 
" Ah ! but," said the stranger, "I want to know the best 
way." "Alight, sir, if you please; I should like to hear 
you talk about the way you deem the best. When I was 
a boy I used to hear my mother talk about the way to 
heaven, and I am under an impression you must know 
the way." He did alight, and I was soon convinced the 
judgment I had formed of the stranger was true. My 
doors were opened, and my neighbors invited to come 
and see and hear a man who could and would, I verily 
believed, tell us the best way to heaven. And it was 
not long before myself, my wife, and several of my 
family, together with many of my neighbors, were well 
assured we were in the way, for we had peace with God, 



180 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

with one another, and did ardently long and fervently 
pray for the peace and salvation of all men. Tell me ? 
friends/ said he, ' is not this the way to heaven ? 

" 6 It is true many of us were for a time greatly alarmed 
and troubled. We communed together and said, It is a 
doubtful case if God will have mercy on us, and forgive 
us our sins ; and if he does, it must be after we have 
passed through long and deep repentance. But our mis- 
sionary, to whom we jointly made known our unbeliev- 
ing fears, said to us, " Cheer up, my friends, ye are not 
far from the kingdom of God. Can any of you be a 
greater sinner than Saul of Tarsus ? and how long did 
it take him to repent ? Three days were all. The Phi- 
lippian jailor, too, in the same hour in which he was con- 
victed, was baptized, rejoicing in God, with all his house. 
Come," said he, " let us have faith in God, remembering 
the saying of Christ, Ye believe in God, believe also in 
me. Come, let us go down upon our knees and claim 
the merit of his death for the remission of sins, and he 
will do it — look to yourselves, each man, God is here." 
Instantly one who was, I thought, the greatest sinner 
in the house except myself, fell to the floor as one 
dead ; and we thought he was dead ; but he was 
not literally dead, for there he sits with as significant 
a smile as any one present.' Here the youth of 
whom he spoke uttered the word Glory ! with a look 



DAWNING OF BRIGHTER DAYS. 181 

and tone of voice that ran through the audience like an 
electric shock, and for a time interrupted the speaker ; 
but he soon resumed his narrative by saying, ' The 
preacher bade us not be alarmed — we must all die to 
live. Instantly I caught him in my arms and exclaimed, 
The guilt I felt and the vengeance I feared, are gone, 
and now I know heaven is not far off ; but here, and 
there, and wherever Jesus manifests himself is heaven.' 
Here his powers of speech failed, and he sat down and 
wept, and there was not, I think, one dry eye in the 
barn. 

" A German spoke next, and if I could tell what he 
said as told by him, it would be worth a place in any 
man's memory. But this I cannot do. He, however, 
spoke to the following import : — 

" ' When de preacher did come to mine house, and did 
say, "Peace be on this habitation; I am come, fader, to 
se-e if in dese troublesome times I can find any in your 
parts dat does know de way to dat country where war, 
sorrow, and crying is no more; and of whom could I in- 
quire so properly as of one to whom God has given many 
days ?" When he did say dis, I was angry, and did try 
to say to him, Go out of mine house ; but I could not 
speak, but did tremble, and when mine anger was gone 
I did say, I does fear I does not know de way to dat 
goodest place, but mine wife does know ; sit down and I 



182 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

will call her. Just den mine wife did come in, and de 
stranger did say, " Dis, fader, is, I presume, yourn wife, 
of whom you say she does know de way to a better 
country, de way to heaven. Dear woman, will you tell 
it me?" After mine wife did look at de stranger one 
minute, she did say, I do know Jesus, and is not he de 
way ? De stranger did den fall on his knees and tank 
God for bringing him to mine house, where dere was one 
dat did know de way to heaven ; he did den pray for 
me and mine children, dat we might be like mine wife, 
and all go to heaven togeder. Mine wife did den pray 
in Dutch, and some of mine children did fall on deir 
knees, and I did fall on mine, and when she did pray no 
more de preacher did pray again, and mine oldest 
daughter did cry so loud. 

" 6 From dat time I did seek de Lord, and did fear he 
would not hear me, for I had made de heart of mine wife 
so sorry when I did tell her she was mad. But de 
preacher did show me so many promises dat I did tell 
mine wife if she would forgive me, and fast and pray 
wid me all day and all night, I did hope de Lord would 
forgive me. Dis did please mine wife, but she did say, 
We must do all in de name of de Lord Jesus. About 
de middle of de night I did tell mine wife I should not 
live till morning, mine distress was too great. But she 
did say, Mine husband, God will not let you die ; and 



DAWNING OF BRIGHTER DAYS. 



183 



just as the day did break mine heart did break, and tears 
did run so fast, and I did say, Mine wife, I does now 
believe mine God will bless me, and she did say, Amen, 
amen, come, Lord Jesus. Just den mine oldest daughter 
who had been praying all night, did come in and did fall 
on mine neck, and said, 0 mine fader, Jesus has blessed 
me. And den joy did come into mine heart, and we 
have gone on rejoicing in de Lord ever since. Great 
fear did fall on mine neighbors, and mine barn would not 
hold all de peoples dat does come to learn de way to 
heaven.' His looks, his tears, and his broken English, 
kept the people in tears, mingled with smiles, and even 
laughter, not with lightness, but joy, for they believed 
every word he said. 

" After him, one got up and said, For months previ- 
ous to the coming of Mr. Mair into their place, he was 
one of the most wretched of men. He had heard of the 
Methodists, and the wonderful works done among them, 
and joined in ascribing it all to the devil. At length a 
fear fell on him ; he thought he should die and be lost. 
He lost all relish for food, and sleep departed from him. 
His friends thought him mad; but his own conclusion 
was, that he was a reprobate, having been brought up a 
Calvinist ; and he was tempted to shoot himself, that he 
might know the worst. He at length resolved he would 
hear the Methodists ; and when he came the barn was 



184 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

full; there was, however, room at the door, where he 
could see the preacher, and hear well. He was soon con- 
vinced he was no reprobate, and felt a heart" to beg of 
God to forgive him for ever harboring a thought that he, 
the kind Parent of all, had reprobated any of his child- 
ren. And listening, he at length understood the cause 
of his wretchedness ; it was guilt, from which Jesus came 
to save us. The people all around him being in tears, 
and hearing one in the barn cry, Glory to Jesus, hardly 
knowing what he did, he drew his hat from under his 
arm, and swinging it over his head, began to huzza with 
might and main. The preacher saw him and knew he 
was not in sport, for the tears were flowing down his 
face, and smiling, said, £ Young man, thou art not far 
from the kingdom of God ; but rather say, Hallelujah, 
the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.' Several others 
spoke, and more would have spoken, had not a general 
cry arisen, when the doors were thrown open that all 
might come in and see the way that God sometimes 
works." 

Mr. Mair enjoyed the acquaintance and friendship of 
Rev. Uzal Ogden, an evangelical and zealous clergyman 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church, who showed much 
friendly regard to the Methodists at that early day, and 
cooperated with them in the work of disseminating truth 
and righteousness among the people. He will appear 



DAWNING OF BRIGHTER DAYS. 



185 



more prominently in our pages hereafter. We make 
this allusion to him for the sake of introducing a letter 
addressed by him to Mr. Mair. It is dated Newtown 
[Newton, Sussex Co., N. J.], 10th July, 1T83. 

" TO MR. GEORGE MAIR, A METHODIST PREACHER." 

" Dear Sir : — Your favor of the 10th of April, I 
had the pleasure of receiving yesterday. The regard you 
express for me merits my thanks ; and be assured your 
piety and zeal have gained you my affection. I fer- 
vently pray that you may be the peculiar object of the 
love of God ; that yourself and family may be blessed 
with his spiritual and temporal favors ; that you may 
never be i weary in well doing ;' that you may daily be- 
hold an increase of success of your 'labor of love ;' and 
that in due season you may shine as a star of the first 
magnitude in the celestial regions, because you shall have 
been instrumental in turning many persons from the 
commission of vice to the practice of virtue. 

" Oh ! the bright, the dazzling prospects the faithful 
servants of God have before them, when they look be- 
yond the things of time and sense. Let a due respect 
to the i recompense of reward 1 of the faithful, a sense 
of the love of Christ towards us, -and of the importance 
of the souls of men, cause us to be animated with new 
zeal to promote the interests of religion, occasion us to 



186 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



disregard the reproaches of the unrighteous, and with 
resignation and patience bear whatever cross God in his 
good providence may suffer to be laid upon us. 

" You mention you have lately had some severe conflicts 
with the powers of darkness, and who is without such 
trials among the righteous? But, happily, you have 
been preserved from destruction ; you have experienced 
the all-sufficiency of the grace of God for your comfort 
and safety. I praise the Lord that he hath been a 
'present help to you in time of trouble.' Doubtless in 
future you will hereby be emboldened, whatever tempta- 
tions or afflictions you may be exercised with, to 6 trust 
in the Lord Jehovah,' as 'in him there is everlasting 
strength.' And for your peace and safety, in time to 
come, you will, I conclude, if possible, be more observ- 
ant of the apostolic injunction, to ' quench not the Spirit, 
and to pray without ceasing.' Our security and joy de- 
pend much on our duty regarding these words of wisdom 
and friendship of St. Paul. 

" May God, in his mercy, grant that both of us may 
be more circumspect in all our ways ; 4 redeem the time' 
we may yet be favored with ; enjoy much of the Divine 
presence ; glorify the Almighty on earth and be glorified 
by him in heaven. 

" Heaven ! Pleasing word ! Blessed place ! The 
habitation of the righteous. Though we meet not again 



DAWNING OF BRIGHTER DAYS. 



187 



here, there, even there, I trust we shall embrace each 
other never more to part. Delightful idea ! Let it so- 
lace the soul. Let it give us that happiness we are de- 
prived of through our separation from each other. 

"I do not regret the countenance I have shown the 
Methodists ; nor shall I cease to be friendly towards 
them, as I am persuaded they are instrumental in 
advancing the divine glory, and the salvation of man- 
kind. 

"I have not yet received the pamphlet written by 
Rev. Mr. Knox, though I expect to be favored with it by 
Mr. Roe in a few days. 

" Ever shall I be happy to hear from you, and with 
punctuality and pleasure answer your letters. Believe 
me to be, 

" Dear Sir, 

"Your sincere friend, 

" And very humble servant, 

"UZAL OGDEN." 

As the above letter was written in reply to one from 
Mr. Mair, and as it touches some points of personal ex- 
perience of which he evidently had spoken in his letter, 
it gives us a glimpse of his interior life ; slight indeed, 
yet interesting to such as cherish the memorials of the 
Methodist heroes of the olden time. 



188 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

In 1784 Mr. Mair was appointed to Caroline, -Md., and 
before the next Conference he had finished his labors 
and departed to his rest. He was a man of - affliction, 
but possessed a clear understanding and a very patient 
and resigned spirit. 



THE WORK AND LABORERS IN 1781. 189 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE WORK AXD LABORERS IN 1781. 

The Conference of 1781 was held at Choptank, Dela- 
ware, the 16th of April, and adjourned to Baltimore the 
24th of the same month. Several preachers from Vir- 
ginia and North Carolina attended, and "all but one," 
says Asburj, " agreed to return to the old p]an, and give 
up the administration of the ordinances : our troubles 
now seem over from that quarter; and there appears to 
to be a considerable change in the preachers from North 
to South ; all was conducted in peace and love." 

At this Conference New Jersey was again divided into 
two circuits, which were called West and East Jersey. 
Caleb B. Pedicord and Joseph Cromwell were appointed 
to the former, and James 0. Cromwell and Henry Met- 
calf to the latter. The preachers appear to have re- 
mained on their circuits only half the year ; as in No- 
vember, Joseph Everett was sent by Bishop Asbury to 

travel in West Jersey with James 0. Cromwell. It is 
12 



190 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



probable that Pedicord went to the East Jersey circuit 
at that time, and labored there in the place of Cromwell. 
Everett speaks kindly of his colleague, and says that 
his own labors were blessed in the conversion of many 
souls. " In the West Jersey," he says, "I was opposed 
by the Baptists and beset by Lutherans. They would 
have put a period to my life, but my Master had more 
work for me to do." 

Among the events of importance to the Church this 
year was the conversion of Thomas Ware. He was a 
native Jerseyman, brought up in the Calvinistic faith, 
and was a revolutionary patriot. He was one of the 
nine thousand who were quartered at Perth Amboy in 
1776. 

When he heard of the brilliant victory at Trenton he 
felt assured that the liberties of his country were safe, 
but he soon felt the necessity of a higher liberty- — a 
freedom from the bondage of sin and death. But his 
mind was confused by the religious opinions he had been 
taught in his childhood, and unable to solve satisfactorily 
the great questions concerning God and destiny that 
struggled within him, he became dejected in spirit and 
wandered for some time in the mazes of doubt, knowing 
not where he should find rest to his soul. 

At length he fell into a project of going to sea. The 
brig was about to sail, and " impatient," he says, "for 



THE WORK AND LABORERS IN 1781. 191 



the hour to arrive when I was to enter upon an enter- 
prise on which I was fully bent, I wandered to a 
neighboring grove, not merely to indulge in reverie, but 
to think more minutely on the subject of our adventure 
than I had before done. While I was laboring to find 
arguments to justify the course I was about to pursue, 
a stranger passed me, though I was so merged in the 
thicket that he did not see me. As he was going by, he 
began to sing the following lines :— 

' Still out of the deepest abyss 
Of trouble, I mournfully cry, 
And pine to recover my peace, 
To see my Redeemer and die. 

I cannot, I cannot forbear 

These passionate longings for home. 

Oh ! when shall my spirit be there ? 
Oh ! when will the messenger come V 

As he walked his horse slowly I heard every word dis- 
tinctly, and was deeply touched, not only with the 
melody of his voice which was among the best I ever 
heard, but with the words, and especially the couplet, — - 

' I cannot, I cannot forbear 

These passionate longings for home.' 

" After he ceased I went out and followed him a great 



192 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

distance, hoping lie would begin again. He, however, 
stopped at the house of a Methodist and dismounted. I 
then concluded he must be a Methodist preacher, and 
would probably preach that evening. I felt a wish to 
hear ; but thought I could not in consequence of a pre- 
vious engagement. 

"As yet I knew very little of the Methodists. My 
mother, who was strongly prejudiced against them, 
charged me to refrain from going after them ; and I had 
heard many things said against them, especially that 
they were disaffected against their country. There was 
one Methodist in town, however, to whom I was under 
some obligation. This good man had noticed me ; and 
suspecting that I was under some religious impressions, 
he came and told me that Mr. Pedicord, a most excellent 
preacher, had come into the place, and would preach 
that night, and he very much wished me to hear him. 
I told him I presumed I had seen the preacher, and men- 
tioned the lines I had heard him sing in the road. On 
inquiring of him if he knew such a hymn, he replied that 
he did very well, and immediately commenced and sung 
it to the same tune ; and, as he was an excellent singer, 
I was deeply affected, even to tears. I told him I would 
be glad to hear Mr. Pedicord, and probably should hear 
a part of the sermon, and possibly the whole, if it were 
not too long. I accordingly went, and was there when 



THE WORK AND LABORERS IN 1781. 



193 



the preacher commenced his service. I thought he sung 
and prayed delightfully. His text was taken from the 
24th chapter of Luke : ' Then opened he their under- 
standing, that they might understand the Scriptures. 
And he said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it 
behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead 
the third day, that repentance and remission of sins 
should be preached in his name among all nations, 
beginning at Jerusalem.' Soon was I convinced that 
all men were redeemed and might be saved — and saved 
now from the guilt, practice, and love of sin. With this 
I was greatly affected, and could hardly refrain from ex- 
claiming aloud, 4 This is the best intelligence I ever 
heard/ When the meeting closed, I hastened to my 
lodgings, retired to my room, fell upon my knees before 
God, and spent much of the night in penitential tears. 
I did not once think of my engagement with my sea- 
bound companions until the next day, when I went and 
told the young man who had induced me to enlist into 
the project that I had abandoned all thoughts of going 
to sea. They, however, proceeded in their perilous un- 
dertaking, were betrayed, their officers thrown into 
prison, and the brig and cargo confiscated. When I 
heard of this I praised the Lord for my deliverance 
from this danger and infamy, which I considered worse 
than death. 



194 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

" I now gave up the study of navigation, and aban- 
doned all company but that of the pious. The New 
Testament I read over and over, and was charmed with 
the character of God our Saviour, as revealed in it ; and 
I esteemed reproach, for his sake, more desirable than 
all earthly treasure." 

Having experienced the blessing of pardon, Mr. Ware 
became at once a zealous laborer in the cause he had es- 
poused. He traveled sixty miles to see an unconverted 
sister and to tell her what the Lord had done for him. 
In his first interview with her she became convinced of 
the necessity of religion, and never afterward rested un- 
til she obtained it. 

Mount Holly was the place of his spiritual birth, 
"and on that account," he says, "it has ever been to 
me the most lovely spot I ever saw, not even excepting 
Greenwich, the place of my nativity. I was here in 
former years as a soldier, on my way to the army, and 
this was my retreat when, in a state of melancholy bor- 
dering on despair, I sought concealment. Here, now, 
while the joyous villagers sought me in vain on the play- 
ful green, I passed the solemn twilight in audience with 
my God. Here, too, I had spent the live-long day in 
fasting and melting thoughts on Calvary, agitated w r ith 
petrifying fears and gloomy horrors ; sometimes imagin- 
ing sounds of ominous import, as though the mountain 



THE WORK AXD LABORERS IN 1781. 195 



tops had become the rendezvous of fiends or beasts of 
prey. But when the disquietude of my mind was allayed 
by the peaceful enjoyment of the grace of life, I no 
longer sought concealment : and it was strange to see 
with what amazement many listened while I told them 
what the Lord had done for me. Some wept bitterly, 
confessed their ignorance of such a state and pronounced 
me happy; while others thought me mad, and on the 
Methodists, not on me, laid all the blame of what they 
conceived to be my derangement/' 

He was soon elevated to the leadership of a class and 
exercised his gift of exhortation. Many of his brethren 
entertained the opinion that he ought to preach, and ex- 
pressed to him their views respecting the matter. "But 
I believed them not," he says. " The affectionate solic- 
itude I felt for the salvation of sinners, which had 
prompted me to some bold acts that I had performed 
from a sense of duty, I did not construe as a call to the 
ministry, but as a collateral evidence of my adoption 
into the family of God. That a knowledge of the 
learned languages was essential to qualify a man to 
preach the gospel, as many seemed to think, I did not be- 
lieve, for some of the best preachers I ever heard had it 
not ; but they had other qualifications — a good natural 
understanding and discriminating powers, which fall not 
to the common lot of men, however pious and learned 



196 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

they may be. "When my feelings were moved on the 
subject of religion and the salvation of souls, I could 
talk somewhat readily ; and I sometimes had the elo- 
quence of tears. My capacity and knowledge were, in 
my own estimation, too limited ever to think of being a 
preacher. I was a leader and an exhorter ; and more 
than these I never expected to be. 

" Such were my views and feelings when Bishop As- 
bury came to New Mills, about seven miles from Mount 
Holly, and sent for me to come and see him. I had not 
been introduced to him, nor did he previously know me. 
On entering his room, he fixed his discriminating eve 
upon me, and seemed to be examining me from head to 
foot as I approached him. He reached me his hand, 
and said, £ This, I suppose, is brother Ware, or shall I 
say Pedicord the younger V I replied, ' My name is Ware, 
sir, and I claim some affinity to the Wesleyan family, 
and Mr. Pedicord as my spiritual father.' 'Youthen 
revere the father of the Methodists ?' said he. 6 1 do,' I 
replied, 6 greatly ; the first time I heard his name men- 
tioned, it was said of him, by way of reproach, that he 
had brought shame upon the Christian world by preach- 
ing up free will. Free will, said I, and what would you 
have him preach ? — bound will ? He might as well go with 
St. Patrick and preach to the fish, as preach to men 
without a will. From that time, I resolved to hear the 



THE WORK AND LABORERS IX 1781. 107 

Methodists, against whom I had been so much preju- 
diced.' 

" 6 Sit down,' said Mr, Asbury, 'I have somewhat to 
say unto thee. Have all men since the fall been pos- 
sessed of freewill?' I replied that I considered they 
had, since the promise made to Adam, that the seed of 
the woman should bruise the serpent's head. ' Can man, 
then, turn himself and live?' said he. ' So thought 
Ezekiel,' I replied, 'when he said, Turn yourselves and 
live,' remarking, as I understood it, that he can receive 
the testimony which God has given of his Son ; and 
thus, through grace, receive power to become a child of 
God. 4 Are all men accountable to God?' he still fur- 
ther inquired. I replied, ' The almighty Jesus says, 
"Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to 
give to every man according as his works shall be."' 
' On what do you found the doctrine of universal ac- 
countability V he added. ' On the doctrine of universal 
grace — " The grace of God which bringeth salvation 
hath appeared unto all men,"' ' &c, was my reply. 

" He then looked at me very sternly, and said, ' What 
is this I hear of you ? It is said you have disturbed the 
peaceful inhabitants of Holly, by rudely entering into a 
house where a large number of young people were as- 
sembled for innocent amusement, and when welcomed by 
the company and politely invited to be seated, you re- 



198 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

fused, and proceeded to address them in such a way that 
some became alarmed and withdrew, and the rest soon 
followed.' To this I answered, ' My zeal in -this affair 
may have carried me too far. But I knew them to be 
generally my friends and well-wishers, and felt to do as 
the man out of whom, Christ cast a legion of devils was 
directed, namely, to go and show my friends how great 
things God had done for me. It is true, when I entered 
the room, some appeared delighted to see me, and 
heartily welcomed me ; but those who knew me best ap- 
peared sad. And when invited to take a glass and be 
seated, I told them I must be excused, for I had not 
come to spend the evening with them, but to invite them 
to spend it with me. "You know me," I said, " and 
how delighted I have often been in your company, and 
with the amusements in which you have met to indulge. 
But I cannot now go with you. My conscience will not 
permit me to do so. But as none of your consciences, 
I am persuaded, forbid your going with me, I have come 
to invite you to go with me and hear the excellent Mr. 
Pedicord preach his farewell sermon. Pardon me, my 
friends, I am constrained to tell you the Lord has done 
great things for me through the instrumentality of this 
good man." The circle was not very large. Not a 
word of reply was made to what I said. Some were af- 
fected and soon left after I withdrew. It is true some 



THE WORK AND LABORERS IN 1781. 199 

of the citizens were offended, and said it was too much 
that the Methodists should give tone to the town. "Must 
the youth of Mount Holly," said they, " ask leave of 
the Methodists if they would spend an evening together 
in innocent amusement?" Others said, "The young 
man must have acted from a Divine impulse or he could 
not have clone it, as he is naturally diffident and unas- 
suming." But I never knew that any one of the party 
was offended.' 

" Bishop Asbury listened to this simple explanation 
of the matter attentively, but without relaxing the stern- 
ness of his look, or making any reply to it. He then 
branched off to another subject. ' Was it not bold and 
adventurous,' said he, 'for so young a Methodist to fill, 
for a whole week, without license or consultation, the 
appointments of such a preacher as George Mair V I 
replied that Mr. Mair was suddenly called from the cir- 
cuit by sickness in his family, and I saw that he was 
deeply afflicted, not only on account of the distress his 
family were suffering, but, especially, because of the dis- 
appointments it must occasion on a part of the circuit 
where there was a good work going on ; that some of 
these appointments were new, and there was no one to 
hold any meeting with the people whatever ; that I was 
therefore induced, soon after he was gone, to resolve on 
going to some of these places and telling those who 



200 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

might come out the cause of the preacher's absence ; and 
that if I was sometimes constrained to exhort these peo- 
ple without a formal license, it was with fear and trem- 
bling, and generally very shorty unless when the tears 
of the people caused me to forget that I was on unau- 
thorized ground. 

" He still said nothing, either by way of reproof or 
commendation, more than the manner of his introducing 
the subjects might seem to imply. And being under an 
impression that his remarks were designed to mortify me 
for my course in the matter of the ball, and in taking the 
circuit in the absence of Mr. Mair, I said, 6 Mr. Asbury, 
if the person who informed you against me had told me 
of my errors, I would have acknowledged them.' Here 
he stopped me by clasping me in his arms, and saying 
in an affectionate tone, 6 You are altogether mistaken, 
my son, — it was your friend Pedicord who told me of 
your pious deeds, and advised that you should be sent to 
Dover circuit, which had but one preacher on it ;' that I 
could tell the people if I pleased, that I did not come 
in the capacity of a preacher but only to assist in keep- 
ing up the appointments until another could be sent, and 
that he would give me a testimonial to introduce me. But 
if they did not cordially receive me, he said, I might re- 
turn, and he would see me and compensate me for my 
time and expenses." 



THE WORK AXD LABORERS IN 1781. 



201 



Being thus appealed to, he felt that he could not well 
decline entering upon the work. He therefore promised 
Asbury that, if he insisted upon it, he would go to the 
circuit and assist in keeping up the appointments until a 
preacher could be sent who might perform the regular 
work of a minister. Accordingly in the early part of 
September, 1T83, he "with a very heavy heart," set his 
face towards the Peninsula, and, having reached his cir- 
cuit, was welcomed by the people, and labored with sat- 
isfaction and success among them. Thus was thrust into 
the vineyard that devoted and successful laborer, who for 
more than half a century ceased not to declare the 
whole counsel of God, and who having fought the good 
fight, finished his course with joy; while the benedictions 
of the Church, which had grown to such magnitude and 
strength during his period of service, attended his spirit 
in its triumphal passage to heaven. 

Caleb B. Pedicord was one of the serenest and most 
beautiful lights that has ever adorned the firmament of 
Methodism. He was a man of great sweetness of spirit 
and of unquestioned holiness. His devotion to the work 
of God was intense and absorbing, and neither the en- 
ticements nor the persecutions of the world had any 
power to move him from the post of duty. There he 
firmly stood and bravely fought, until he victoriously laid 
down his armor for the crown and exaltation of a Chris- 



202 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

tian conqueror. In common with the Methodist min- 
isters of his day he was subjected to hardship and perse- 
cution. He was once beaten upon his horse, in Mary- 
land, by a shameless persecutor, and the scars he re- 
ceived he carried to his grave. 

One of the greatest obstacles which beset the early 
ministry of Methodism was the ignorance of the people 
respecting spiritual things. Many who had the form of 
godliness had no conception whatever of the deep expe- 
riences of a spiritual life. A lady in Maryland, who had 
been a very strict Church woman, and had observed the 
Sabbath and catechized her children, became convicted 
of sin, and so deep did her distress become that she be- 
took herself to her bed, not knowing what was the mat- 
ter. Pedicord visited her. He understood her case, 
and with his sweetly pathetic voice he spoke to her of 
the great Physician who had an infallible remedy for 
her anguish and sorrow. She looked to Him, believed, 
and her wounded spirit was made whole. That lady was 
the mother of the late venerated William Ryder of the 
Philadelphia Conference.* 

To manifest strong religious emotions, or to give ex- 
pression to the heart's gratitude and joy in exclama- 
tions of praise, was considered, at that time, by many, 
an evidence either of fanaticism or of mental aberration. 

* Christian Advocate and Journal., May 12, 1837. 



THE WORK AND LABORERS IX 1781. 



203 



A lady in the eastern part of Xew Jersey who was 
awakened under the ministry of Pedicord in 1782, ob- 
tained the knowledge of salvation by the remission of 
sins, and so great was her joy that she shouted aloud her 
Saviour's praise. The people were startled. They con- 
cluded she must be insane. Her father, who had previ- 
ously joined the society, was sent for, and on arriving 
he discovered the cause of her ecstatic expressions, 
which was simply the manifestation of God to her soul. 
Instead of participating in the alarm, or making an ef- 
fort to suppress her shouting, he said he wished all pre- 
sent could feel as she felt. That it was not an evanes- 
cent emotion was proved by a subsequent life of devo- 
tion, extending over half a century. When she came 
down to the verge of Jordan, she exclaimed, "I am go- 
ing home where pain and sickness never come," and 
passed over to the eternal shores. Thus in thousands of 
cases has it been demonstrated by holy and useful lives, 
and peaceful and victorious deaths, that the deep emo- 
tions and hearty exclamations which have been peculiarly 
characteristic of Methodists are not always empty cant, 
but are the result of " an unction from the Holy One." 

That the Divine Being exercises a special providence 
over those that love Him is not "only clearly taught in 
the Scriptures, but is also strikingly illustrated some- 
times in the lives of his people. An escape quite as 



204 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

providential, apparently, as that of John Wesley from 
the burning rectory, is recorded of Pedicord. The fact 
is thus given byAsbury: " A remarkable instance oc- 
curred of the watchful care of God over his people. 
Mr. Pedicord went to bed, but could not sleep, though 
he tried again and again. At last he was obliged to 
rise ; and going down stairs with the man of the house, 
he found the house on fire." That unwelcome and sin- 
gular unrest was the means, it may be, of saving his own 
and others' lives. 

Though Mr. Pedicord was appointed to West Jersey, 
he seems to have labored in the interior and also in the 
eastern part of the State. He must therefore have been 
abundant in labors as well as usefulness. The fruit of 
his ministry that year was visible in New Jersey for at 
least half a century after he had passed to his reward, 
and the effects of his labors are probably felt to this 
day. 

We have spoken of his devotion to the cause of his 
Master. A passage from the Life of Abbott will show 
with what weight that cause pressed upon his heart. "I 
removed," says Abbott, "to Lower Penn's Neck with my 
family, where I found a set of as hardened sinners as 
were out of hell. I preached again and again, and all 
to no purpose. Brother Pedicord and brother Metcalf 
came to my house, and I told them that I was almost 



THE WORK AND LABORERS IN 1781. 205 



discouraged. When they heard it they were so dis- 
tressed that they could not eat breakfast, but retired to 
their room where they remained until about one or two 
o'clock. When they came down stairs brother P. said, 
6 Father Abbott,, do not be discouraged; these people 
will yet hunger and thirst after the word of God,' and 
appeared cheerful. In the evening he preached to the 
neighbors, and next day they went on their circuits." 

While Pedicord was in New Jersey, a desperado and 
tory of the name of Molliner, who, with his gang of 
confederates, had committed great ravages in their work 
of plunder along the Atlantic counties, was arrested and 
brought to justice at Burlington. His imprisonment 
lasted but six weeks, during which time he was tried, 
convicted, and sentenced to die. Though so desperate a 
sinner, Pedicord and his colleague visited his cell in con- 
nection with William Bucld, a local preacher from New 
Mills, for the purpose of bearing to him salvation 
through the Crucified. They told him of Jesus and his 
cross, and of his power and willingness to save the chief 
of sinners. He heard their words. He looked to the 
Lamb of God. He flung his trembling spirit, so deeply 
stained with guilt, into the fountain that was opened to 
the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem 
for sin and for uncleanness. He rose, as those preachers 

testified, a regenerated, saved man. 
13 



206 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



On the day of his execution, thousands of persons, it 
was computed, collected from all parts of the surround- 
ing country to witness the tragical event. The display 
of military, and the sounds of music that floated mourn- 
fully on the air, heightened the impressiveness and solem- 
nity of the scene. The condemned man in company 
with his religious advisers, Pedicord, Cromwell, and 
Budd, rode in the wagon which contained his cofKn, to 
the place of execution. " The huge procession passed 
out of Burlington, over Ewling's bridge, to a place 
called 6 Gallows Hill.' The wagon halted under the 
fatal tree, and the soldiers were arranged around the vi- 
cinity in a square. The dense mass of spectators 
pressed closer and closer to the object on which all eyes 
were now fixed. Molliner arose and gazed upon the 
crowd ; his countenance seemed changed ; he spoke at 
some length, acknowledged his guilt, and begged the 
people to pray for him ; then, closing his eyes, he sat 
down and appeared to be engaged in an agony of prayer. 

"Rev. Mr. Pedicord, standing in the wagon beside 
the coffin, gave out a text, and preached a suitable ser- 
mon, which affected all hearts within hearing of his sweetly 
musical voice, whose melting tones seldom failed to draw 
tears from all eyes. The people wept and sobbed while 
they heard. After the sermon a prayer was offered by 
one of the other preachers. On standing up again, 



THE WORK AND LABORERS IN 1781. 207 

Molliner requested them to sing, and a hymn was sung. 
At the close Molliner was deeply exercised, clapping hi3 
hands exultingly, and exclaiming, ' I've found Him ! 
I've found Him ! Now I am ready.' He adjusted the 
rope to his neck, took leave of those around, who 
stepped down from the wagon, and then said again, 4 1 
am ready; drive off!' The horse started, the wagon 
passed from beneath his feet, he swung round a few 
turns, settled, struggled once for a moment, then all was 
still. The spirit of the daring refugee, now an humble 
Christian, was in the presence of God."* 

Mr. Ware gives an affecting illustration of the de- 
voutness and beauty of Pedicord's spirit, which is as 
follows: "Mr. Pedicord returned ao*am to our village. I 
hastened to see him, and tell him all that was in my heart 
He shed tears over me, and prayed. I was dissolved in 
tears. He prayed again. My soul was filled with un- 
utterable delight. He now rejoiced over me as a son — 
' an heir of God, and joint heir with Christ.'" Ware 
wrote to him acknowledging him as the instrument of 
his salvation. " A thousand blessings on the man who 
brought me this intelligence. On my bended knees I 
owned the doctrine true, and said, It was enough — I may 
be happy — Heaven may be mine, since Jesus tasted 
death for all, and wills them to be saved ! But I am 

* Raybold's Methodism in West Jersey. 



208 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

not myself ; my hopes and fears are new. Oil ! may I 
never lose this tenderness of heart. Yes, my friend, I 
am thy debtor. To me thou hast restored my Bible and 
my God. And shall I be ungrateful ? No. I will see 
thee and confess the whole." 

As Ware was about entering the ministry, Pedicord 
wrote him a kind letter. Here is an extract : 

" Dear Tommy, — Brother Asbury made me glad when 
he informed me you had consented to come down to the 
Peninsula in the character of a licentiate, to spend some 
time on the Dover circuit, and then come to me. You 
have kept, in faithful memory, my earnest advice to study 
deeply the sacred pages, therein to learn the sum of good, 
Heaven kindly, though conditionally, wills to man. This 
you have done, and it has eventuated as I hoped; you 
have learned that He who claims all souls as His, and 
wills them to be saved, does sometimes from the common 
walks of life, choose men who have learned of Him to be 
lowly in heart, and bids them go and invite the world to 
the great supper. The Lord is, at this time, carrying on 
a great and glorious work, chiefly by young men like your- 
self. Oh, come and share in the happy toil, and in the 
great reward ! Mark me, though seven winters have now 
passed over me, and much of the way dreary enough, 
yet God has been with me and kept me in the way I went, 
and often whispered, < Thou art mine, and all I have is 



THE WORK AND LABORERS IN 1781. 209 

thine.' He has, moreover, given me sons and daughters, 
too, born not of the flesh, but of God ; and who can es- 
timate the joy I have in one destined, I hope, to fill my 
place in the itinerant ranks when I am gone ! Who, then, 
will say that mine was not a happy lot? 'Tis well you 
have made haste ; much more than I can express have I 
wished you in the ranks before mine eyes have closed in 
death and on all below. 

" It is true, in becoming an itinerant you will have to 
sacrifice all means of acquiring property, all domestic 
ease and happiness, and must be content with food and 
raiment. Nor are the hardships and perils less appalling 
than those you have witnessed in our war for independ- 
ence ; for it is a fact known to you already, in part, that 
the professing world, with the clergy at their head, are in 
array against us. But thanks be to God ! we know Him, 
who both died, and rose, and revived that he might be 
Lord both of the dead and living, and in receiving our 
commissions have felt a courage commensurate (may I 
not say?) with that with which the disciples were inspired 
when Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, 4 All power 
is given unto me in heaven and in earth, go ye/ &c. &c. 

" It was to the whole bench of the apostles the charge 
was given, so they understood it, hence they all became 
itinerants ; why, then, is not the world evangelized ? Are 
the clergy blameless in this matter ? So thought not 



210 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

Wesley, so thinks not Asbury, his coadjutor. The clergy 
have long since abandoned this apostolic plan; they have 
doubtless deemed it more than could be expected of them 
therein to copy the apostolic example. 

"When Asbury pressed me to become an itinerant, I 
said, ' God had called me to preach, and wo be unto me 
if I preached not, but I had not conviction that he had 
called me to itinerate.' £ No conviction, my son/ said he 
to me sternly, ' that you should follow the directions of 
Him who commissioned you to preach ? Has the charge 
given to the disciples, Go and evangelize the world, been 
revoked? Is the world evangelized V He said no more. 
I looked at the world, it was not evangelized. I looked 
at the clergy, and thought of the rebut received from 
some of them who were thought the most pious, when 
smitten with penitential grief, and ardently desirous to 
know what I must do to be saved, and thought who hath 
said, ' The hireling careth not for the sheep, because he 
is a hireling.' 

" The world must be evangelized; it should long since 
have been so, and would have been so, had all who pro- 
fessed to be ministers of Christ been such as were the first 
gospel preachers and professors ; for who can contend 
with Him who is Lord of lords, and King of kings, when 
they that are with him in the character of ministers and 
members are called, and chosen, and faithful ? Here the 



THE WORK AND LABORERS IX 1781. 211 



drama ends not, but the time we think is near, even at 
the door. Nothing can kill the itinerant spirit which 
Wesley has inspired. It has lived through the revolution- 
ary war j and will live through all future time. Christen- 
dom will become more enlightened, will feel a divine im- 
pulse, and a way will be cast up, on which itinerants may 
swiftly move, and in sufficient numbers to teach all na- 
tions the commands of God." 

Pedicord possessed, in an uncommon degree, the quali- 
ties of an orator. Physically, he was a noble type of 
manhood. His form was commanding, his countenance 
was indicative of intelligence and sensibility, and his voice 
was like the thrilling, melting murmurs of the harp. In 
addition to this, his spirit was pervaded by a depth of 
tender sympathy that flowed out in his words, and hence 
it is not surprising that almost immediately after he be- 
gan to speak, the moistened eyes of his auditors told 
how resistless was his power. " He possessed," says 
Ware, u the rare talent to touch and move his audience 
at once. I have seen the tear start and the head fall 
before he had uttered three sentences, which were gen- 
erally sententious. Nor did he raise expectations to 
disappoint them. If he could not bind his audience 
with chains, he could draw them after him with a 
silken cord. Never was a man more tenderly beloved 
in our part of the country than he ; and if the decision 



212 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

devolved on me I should say there was none like Pedi- 
cord. But he was my spiritual father." 

In his " Heroes of Methodism/' Mr. Wakeley has 
given a letter, addressed by Pedicord to a young lady, 
which is beautifully illustrative of the character of his 
mind and heart. It shows him to have possessed a mind 
clear in its perceptions, and possessed of much delicacy 
and refinement, and a heart adorned with the beauty of 
meekness, gentleness, and love. As it is probably, with 
the exception of that already given, the only production 
of his pen extant, its insertion here will not, it is hoped, 
be considered contrary to the scope of the present work. 
This letter, so sweet and beautiful in itself, is, in conse- 
quence of its having been written by Pedicord, invested 
with an almost hallowed interest. 

" Virginia, January 12th, 1783. 

" Miss Patty: — Tour friendly letter came safe to 
hand a few days since. I have read it again and again, 
and was so happy as to catch the tender spirit in which 
it was written. It affords matter of real joy even to 
hear from my dear friends ; but to receive a letter con- 
taining an account of their spiritual welfare is cause of 
more abundant consolation. You are pleased to thank 
me for my former letter, and also express your approba- 
tion of the thoughts hinted in favor of early piety. I 



THE WORK AXD LABORERS IX 1781. 213 

am more than ever persuaded of the propriety of them, 
though I feel myself very insufficient to give instruction 
to those who are surrounded with every hopeful and en- 
couraging circumstance. I take knowledge from your 
letter that you entertain low thoughts of yourself. Our 
souls prosper the most under the shade of the cross ; and 
it is well to go down the necessary steps into the valley 
of humiliation. "When praying, as in the dust, our de- 
yotion is in character, but, in t-he mean time, let us re- 
member, help is laid upon One that is mighty. i Look 
unto me,' is His language; He blesses the broken in 
heart and comforts the contrite spirit. He is the 
strength of the weak, the overflowing fountain of all 
goodness, who delights in administering suitable comfort 
according to our various cases. Let faith (which is the 
eye of the soul) momently behold a reconciled God ; ever 
remembering that in striving to believe, and in the exer- 
cise of faith, it is obtained and increased: the se- 
cret, inward, powerful effects of living faith are almost 
a mystery to those who feel them. Salvation by faith 
is what the Scripture strongly recommends. It is true, 
God is the author, Christ the object, and the heart the 
subject : but, notwithstanding this, it has pleased our 
great Author to bestow this precious gift in proportion 
to our willingness to receive and improve it. Love, also, 
is the glorious spring of all outward and inward holi- 



214 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

ness. Happy for us when we feel tins holy, heavenly, 
active principle operating, and sweetly attracting our 
willing hearts into all the graces and virtues of living 
religion. Hope ! oh, blooming hope ! which constantly 
eyes the future promised inheritance ! Oh ! Patty, let 
these three graces be in lively exercise ! Indeed, I am 
at a loss to describe the many blessings that flow from a 
conviction of our being interested in the favor of the 
Lord. Those comforts and graces do not naturally be- 
long to man ; it is fruit that grows not upon nature's 
tree. It follows that in order to abound in them, we 
must eye His will, who is the author and giver of them ; 
which no doubt calls for the mighty exertions of all our 
ransomed powers, carefully walking in, and constantly 
looking through all the means of Divine institution. So 
shall we sail as upon broad waters, and our feet stand in 
a wealthy place. 

" I continue a son of affliction, but still fill up my ap- 
pointments. Remember me affectionately to your grand- 
mamma, who behaved to me as a mother, sister, Chris- 
tian, and friend. 

" The blessed God bless you and keep you blooming 
for a blissful immortality. Yours, &c, 

" Caleb B. Pedicord." 



Pedicord was admitted by the Conference of 1777, 



THE WORK AXD LABORERS IN 1781. 



215 



and appointed to Frederick, Md. In 1778 his appoint- 
ment is not designated in the minutes. In 1779 he was 
sent to Delaware, in connection with Asbury, Garrett- 
son, and others. In 1780 he was again appointed to 
Delaware with Joseph Cromwell as preacher in charge. 
1781, West Jersey; 1782, Sussex, Ya. ; 1783, Meek- 
lenburg, Ya. ; 1784, Baltimore, as preacher in charge 
with Thomas S. Chew and AYilliam Gill. Before the 
next Conference he ceased to labor and to live. 

In describing Pedicord, a writer says, " There was 
one for whom Asbury looked in vain, one who had been 
his companion in many a long and dreary journey, one 
whose eloquent voice had often made the hearts of listen- 
ing thousands 

' Thrill as if an angel spoke, 

Or Ariel's finger touched the string.' 

Pedicord, the gentle spirited, the generous minded, the 
noble souled, the silver tongued Pedicord had fallen, had 
fallen in his opening glory and abundant promise. As- 
bury looked for him and he was not. The grave had 
closed over his body, and his spirit had passed to the 
land where only spirits so refined, so sensitive, so ethereal 
as his, find congenial sympathy and rest." 

His is the first obituary sketch given in the minutes. 
It is exceedingly brief, but very expressive. As with a 



216 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

single stroke of the hand of a master artist it presents 
in bold relief a just outline of his beautiful character. 
" Caleb B. Pedicord, — a man of sorrows; and., like his 
Master, acquainted with grief; but a man dead to the 
world, and much devoted to Grod" That is all. Is it 
not enough ? 

An original character was Joseph Cromwell, but a 
man of zeal, and power, and distinguished success. A 
son of thunder, he ranged through New Jersey, Dela- 
ware, Maryland, and Virginia, summoning the people to 
repentance on pain of being cast into the inextinguish- 
able flames of perdition. Multitudes heard his message 
and hastened their escape to Calvary, whither he uner- 
ringly directed them. 

His superiority over most of his cotemporaries con- 
sisted chiefly, perhaps, in the strength of his natural en- 
dowments, his resolute and vehement earnestness, and 
his faithfulness in presenting the truth, urging it home 
upon the consciences of his hearers with a practical di- 
rectness which said, " Thou art the man." There was, 
too, a kind of magic about his speech — a something 
that penetrated and thrilled you, while it left a . deep and 
vivid impression of' the truth. His speech and his 
preaching were not with enticing words of man's wis- 
dom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and with power. 

The year before he was sent to New Jersey, Asbury 



THE WORK AND LABORERS IN 1781. 217 



says of him, " I thought it -would be well for me to have 
a person with me always, and I think Cromwell is the 
man. If I should preach a systematic, dry sermon, he 
would pay the sinners off." Another of his cotempora- 
ries, Rev. T. Ware, says he preached "with an authority 
few could withstand. By his labors thousands of all 
classes and conditions in society" were brought to God 
and walked worthy of their professions. 

Asbury speaks of a love-feast at which he was present 
in which Cromwell spoke. He sa3 7 s, " His words went 
through me as they have every time I have heard him. 
He is the only man I have heard in America with whose 
speaking I am never tired ; I always admire his unaf- 
fected simplicity ; he is a prodigy — a man that cannot 
write or read well, yet, according to what I have heard, 
he is much like the English John Brown, or the Irish 
John Smith, or Beveridge's shepherd's boy ; I fear he 
will not stand or live long. The power of God attends 
him more or less in every place. He hardly ever opens 
his mouth in vain ; some are generally cut to the heart, 
yet he himself is in the fire of temptation daily. Lord 
keep him every moment !" 

But temptation, alas ! proved too powerful for him. 
Had the fears concerning his life, which Asbury ex- 
pressed in the above emphatic tribute to his power and 
usefulness been early realized, his grave would have been 



218 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

bedewed with the tears of thousands saved by his min- 
istry, whose grief would not have been embittered by 
the gloom which lingered over the scene of his" depart- 
ure. Had he then fallen in the midst of his labors and 
his triumphs, his untarnished name, crowned with imper- 
ishable honors, would have gone down the generations of 
Methodism among those of its noblest sons and heroes. 
But he lived to furnish Methodism and the world with 
another mournful example of the fact that the good and 
the mighty may leap from their commanding altitude 
into depths of guilt and sorrow. And yet who can tell 
but his majestic spirit which unhappily faltered in its 
struggle with the flesh, may, through the abounding 
grace he had so successfully proclaimed to others, have 
risen from the scene of his humiliation to a throne of 
celestial glory ? But of this w r e can only tremblingly 
hope. No visible light, alas ! illumined his final hour. 

After spending about sixteen years in the work, dur- 
ing which time he filled important appointments, includ- 
ing the cities of Philadelphia and Baltimore, and that 
of Presiding Elder, in 1793 he located. In a little 
more than eleven years after his location, Asbury re- 
cords his mournful end as follows: " After a long ab- 
sence I came once more to John Jacobs'. From him I 
heard the awful account of the awful end of Joseph 
Cromwell. He had walked backward, according to his 



THE WORK AXD LABORERS IN 1781. 



219 



own account ; three days he lost in drunkenness ; three 
days he lay sick in darkness — no manifestations of God 
10 his soul ; and thus he died ! We can only hope that 
God had mercy on him. Compare this with what I have 
recorded of his labors and his faithfulness in another 
part of my Journal. Oh ! my soul, be warned ! Bro- 
ther Jacobs preached his funeral sermon, and gave a 
brief sketch of his life, his fall, and his death. His 
text was, ' Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the 
streets of Askelon;' how appropriate the choice !" 

James 0. Cromwell, a brother of Joseph, was ad- 
mitted on trial at the Conference of 1780, and appointed 
to Sussex, Md. In 1781 he was sent as preacher in 
charge to East Jersey. In 1782 we find him on the 
Fluvanna circuit, Va. This was a hard field of labor — 
the rides were long, and a large portion of the circuit 
was very mountainous. The opportunities for usefulness 
were not flattering, yet some additions were made to the 
societies. Cromwell labored hard and diligently in this 
rugged and unpromising field, but was frequently sub- 
jected to discouragement, and even dejection. In 1783 
he was sent to Pittsylvania, Va. ; in 1784 to Kent, Md. 
At the Christmas Conference, 1784, he was ordained 
elder, and appointed with Freeborn Garrettson to Nova 
Scotia. This was a trying field, but he labored in it 
with zeal and success. In 1786 he and Garrettson were 



220 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

" elders" in Nova Scotia. In 1787 he and two others 
were elders over a district that included a portion of the 
State of Maryland. From 1788 to 1791, three years, 
he was Presiding Elder in New Jersey, his district in- 
cluding the entire State. In 1792 he was appointed to 
Bethel circuit, N. J. In 1793 he located. It is said 
that he was a devout and laborious man, and a useful and 
powerful preacher. 

Henry Metcale was admitted at the Conference of 
1781, and appointed to East Jersey. In 1782 he was 
sent to Sussex, Ya. ; in 1783 to Pasquetank, N C- At 
the Conference of 1784 the question is asked for the 
first time, "Who have died this year? And the answer is, 
William Wright and Henry Metcalf; but no notice is 
given of them in the minutes except the bare mention of 
their names. Metcalf was considered an excellent and 
deeply devoted man, but he was a man of a sorrowful 
spirit and suffered under mental depression. W 7 ith him 
the habit of devotion appeared to be a ruling passion, 
strong in death. W r hen near his end, it is said, he rose 
from his bed, and bowed upon his knees, and while in 
that devout attitude his spirit ascended to God.* 

* Lee's Hist, of Methodism, and Asbury's Journal. 



PROGRESS OF THE WORK IN 1782. 



221 



CHAPTER X. 

PROGRESS OF THE WORK IZST 1782. 

The Conference met at Ellis's preaching house, Va. ? 
on the 17th of April, 1782. Asbury says, " We amica- 
bly settled our business and closed our Conference. * * 
We had a love-feast — the power of God was manifested 
in a most extraordinary manner — preachers and people 
wept, believed, loved, and obeyed." The minutes say 
the Conference adjourned to Baltimore the 21st of May. 
At this Conference East Jersey reported 282 members, 
and West Jersey 375. This was a gain for the State 
of 145 members during the ecclesiastical year 1781. 

The appointments in New Jersey this year were, East 

Jersey, John Tunnell, Joseph Everett. West Jersey, 

Joshua Dudley, Richard Ivy. The work continued to 

advance during the year, so that an increase of nearly 

four hundred (371) was realized in the membership. On 

the 16th of September Asbury writes, "I think God 

will do great things in the Jerseys: the prospect is 
U 



222 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

pleasing East and West." He visited Burlington and 
Trenton this year. The latter town he found " in a 
great bustle with the Court, and the French troops." 
He preached to a large and serious congregation on the 
Syrophoenician woman. "Ah! poor gospel-hardened 
Trenton !" he exclaims, "But a few have been converted 
of late." While making his tour in the State he was 
annoyed by persons who demanded his pass. In Ger- 
man town a gentleman of the committee examined his, 
and those of the preachers stationed on the circuit. 
"He treated us with great politeness," he says, "and 
told us what the law required : brother Tunnell's pass 
was pronounced valid ; but mine was not, because I had 
not the signature of the proper authorities in the coun- 
ties through which I had traveled. I pleaded ignorance 
of the necessity of this. Here appeared to be the se- 
cret — the mob had been after brother Everett with 
clubs, and it was supposed, under the connivance of their 
superiors ; they found, however, that he w T as qualified 
according to law : the work of God prospers, and, it is 
possible, this is the real cause of offence to unfriendly 
ministers." He speaks of preaching on Sabbath the 
8th of September to a very gay congregation of four or 
five hundred persons, and says, "The priests of all de- 
nominations, Dutch and English, appear to be much 
alarmed at our success ; some oppose openly, others more 



PROGRESS OF THE WORK IN 1782. 223 

secretly ; the Episcopal ministers are the most quiet ; 
and some of these are friendly." 

Tunnell and Everett did not remain on the circuit 
only until November, when they were sent to the Phila- 
delphia circuit. Everett, in speaking of his appointment 
to East Jersey, says: "I was appointed to East Jersey 
with that man of God, John Tunnell, vrhom I loved as 
another self. We labored in sweet fellowship until No- 
vember ; the Lord also owned his word through my weak 
instrumentality."* Woolman Hickson, George Mair, 
and Richard Ivy appear to have labored in East Jersey 
the latter part of this year. 

About this year a society was formed by Benjamin 
Abbott, in Lower Penn's Neck, in the West Jersey cir- 
cuit. The class met in an old log-house, belonging to 
an aged man by the name of Swanson, who was the 
leader. Some of the first members were "Wm. Bilder- 
back and wife, Catharine Casper, Elizabeth Dixon, and 
Sarah Bright. The manner in which Methodism was in- 
troduced there can be best given in Abbott's own lan- 
guage. He says, u One day as I was preaching, I. Hol- 
laday of Lower Penn's Neck, stopped to hear, and the 
word reached his heart ; after sermon, he asked me if I 
would come and preach at his -house : I asked him if I 
should give it out for the circuit preacher ; he said, Yes. I 

* Arminian Magazine, (American,) vol. ii., 1790. 



224 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY* 

did so, and after bidding the family farewell, an officer of 
the army being present, I took him by the hand, and 
said, ' God out of Christ is a consuming fire, — farewell ! ? 
and so we parted. God pursued him from the very door, 
and gave him no rest ; before twelve o'clock that night he 
was out of bed on the floor at prayer. In about two 
months his soul was set at liberty, and he is a member 
of our Church at the present period. 

" The day appointed at Mr. Holladay's, the traveling 
preacher came, and a great concourse attended, to whom 
he preached; some seemed awakened, some disputed, 
and some were in great consternation. When he con- 
cluded he asked if he should give out preaching there 
again. Mr. H. replied he might. At the time ap- 
pointed abundance of people attended, to whom brother 
Ivy preached with great power, being full of faith and 
the Holy Ghost. Many of the people wept, and it was 
a good season. By this time there were many doors 
opened. One cried, Preach at my house ; and another, 
Preach at my house, &c. The next appointment was 
made at J. D.'s, for brother Dudley: he came and 
preached with power. After meeting I told them that 
that day week I would declare to them, ' Even the mys- 
tery which hath been hid from ages and from genera- 
tions, but now is made manifest to his saints, to whom 
God would make known what is the riches of the glory 



PROGRESS OF THE WORK IN 1782. 225 

of this mystery, among the Gentiles ; which is Christ in 
you the hope of glory, whom we preach, warning every 
man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may 
present every man perfect in Christ Jesus, — Whereunto 
1 also labor, striving according to His working, which 
worketh in me mightily.' Col. i. 26-29. The people 
concluded that I was going to prophesy, and would tell 
how the war would terminate ; this brought abundance 
together. I preached, and God attended the worn with 
power. I had not spoken long before a professing Qua- 
ker said it was a mystery to him ; but before I con- 
cluded, himself, his wife, son, and daughter were all 
struck under conviction, and never rested until they all 
found rest to their souls, and joined the society. About 
six months after, the son died in a triumph of faith ; the 
father was taken ill at the funeral, and never went out 
of his house again until carried to his grave. He de- 
parted this life praising God in a transport of joy. By 
this time there was a general alarm spread through the 
neighborhood. We had prayer meetings two or three 
times a week, and at almost every meeting 'some were 
either convinced or converted. One old woman, to whose 
soul the Lord had spoken peace, clapped her hands, and 
began to praise the creature instead of the Creator. I 
stepped to her and said, I have done nothing for you; if 
there be any good, it is the Lord that has done it, and 



226 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

therefore praise God. 6 Oh,' said she, i but you are a dear 
good creature for all !' I turned away and went among 
the people. At this meeting we had the shout and 
power of Israel's God in the camp : prayer was kept up 
until near midnight. 

" Next morning a young man came to my house to 
know what he must do to be saved. I applied the prom- 
ises of the gospel, and then went to prayer, and after 
me my wife, and then my daughter Martha ; and while 
supplicating the throne of grace on his behalf, the Lord, 
in his infinite goodness, spoke peace to his soul ; and we 
were all made partakers of the blessing. He joined the 
society, lived several years, and died clapping his hands, 
and shouting, 4 Glory to God ! I am going home !' 
That moment his hands ceased clapping, he died. 

" We had now about twenty-two or three in society ; 
but persecution soon arose, and the devil stirred up one 
J. N., a professor of religion among the Presbyterians, 
who at first appeared very friendly, and was active in 
bringing us into the neighborhood ; but soon after, he 
became an instrument in the hand of the devil to oppose 
and lay waste the truth, and did much hurt to the cause 
of God, and all under the cloak of religion. He went 
among our young converts, and told them that God had 
revealed it to him that the Spirit which they professed 
to receive at their conversions was of the devil, and not 



PROGRESS OF THE WORK IN 1782. 227 

the Spirit of Christ. But, glory to God ! it was not in 
the power of men or devils to extinguish the Divine flame, 
although they cast a cloud on many minds, and turned 
some out of the way. 

" The height of my harvest being on our meeting day, 
when meeting time came I told my reapers that they 
must all go to meeting, and that I would pay them their 
wages as though they were at work. We all went, and 
God wrought powerfully ; several fell to the floor and 
two found peace ; it was a great day to many. After 
meeting we returned to our work again. 

" I continued for about two months to preach under 
the trees, for the house would not contain the people. 
We seldom had a meeting during that period but that 
some were either convinced, converted, or sanctified. 

" I now thought it might be expedient to make an at- 
tempt toward building a meeting-house. A subscription 
was drawn for that purpose, but not being able to obtain 
a suitable piece of ground to build on, as those who had 
such refused to sell, it fell through for nearly four years, 
and we continued our meetings as before. 

" One day while I was speaking, the power of the 
Lord laid hold on a Quaker woman, and as she was about 
to escape, she fell on her hands and knees. Some of 
her friends helped her up, got her into a wagon and car- 
ried her off. I was afterward informed that it took them 



228 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

two weeks to kill her convictions. The w T ork of the 
Lord went on among the people, and I continued to im- 
press the necessity of sanctification upon believers. We 
had, at that time, twelve children who were converted to 
God." 

While Abbott resided in Penn's Neck, two wicked men 
resolved that should he attempt to preach at a certain 
place again they would kill him. The friends besought 
him not to run the hazard of doing so, but he replied, 
" I fear them not," and proceeded in his undertaking. 
" The two men came to the door of the house with heavy 
clubs in their hands. When Abbott saw them he called 
aloud on the Lord to ' strike those daring sinners.' 
Both became alarmed and turned and ran ; one fell 
down ; but, by the assistance of their cronies, both got 
away, so well frightened that they never came to kill 
Abbott again."* 

One day Abbott went to a neighbor's (Tobias Cas- 
per's), "and told the family that all his children had em- 
braced religion except his son Elisha ; he had been pray- 
ing for him, and he believed the Lord would convert him 
or kill him! The next day the family heard a great 
and strange noise, just over the Branch, which separated 
the two farms. Some of the family thought the British 

* Methodism in West Jersey. This, and the remaining facts of 
this chapter are not given in Abbott's Life. 



PROGRESS OF THE WORK IN 1782. 229 

had come on shore and were about to kill the people over 
on that side ; but Mrs. Casper went to the door, and 
hearing the sounds, said, c That is the noise of shouting; 
it is Elisha Abbott ; he is at work along the Branch.' 
She went over to see, and there found that the Lord had 
indeed converted Elisha, all alone, in the swamp or 
woods. Mrs. Casper found the young man leaping, 
shouting, and praising God. His father soon came also ; 
and it was such a time as when the fatted calf was killed 
to celebrate the prodigal's return. 

" The husband of Catharine Casper, the woman 
named, was very much opposed to the Methodists. He 
hated this new sect, which was everywhere spoken 
against. He was violently opposed to his wife going to 
meetings ; but she was faithful ; taking up the cross 
daily, and never faltering in her duty. One Sabbath 
day, while she was gone to Methodist meeting, her hus- 
band, Tobias Casper, kindled a fire in the oven. One 
of his neighbors, Azariah Dixon, came to the house, and 
seeing the fire blazing from the great mouth of the oven, 
asked, in amazement, what Casper was about — what he 
was going to do with the oven. He replied that ' he 
wanted to heat it nine times hotter than it had ever been, 
and he intended to burn his wife in it as soon as she 
came from meeting/ Casper kept up the fire until his 
wife returned. When she saw it, and inquired what he 



230 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

was going to do with tlie oven, he said, 6 To burn you.' 
' Well, if you have more power than the Master, whom 
I serve, has to keep me out, I will go in it."' He, no 
doubt, expected violent opposition, and the offer to go 
into the fire confounded him. He looked at her a while 
and then said, ' Well, you are a fool,' and walked off ; 
and there the affair ended. 

" During the first revival in Penn's Neck under the 
preaching of Benjamin Abbott, a female slave, by the 
name of Phillis, was converted. She belonged to a 
wealthy lady of the place, Mrs. Miles ; and the lady, 
displeased with her conversion, made the service of her 
black slave harder than ever, 6 because she had become a 
Methodist.' But Phillis was faithful, and used to go to 
the barn to pray. At one time her mistress took the 
cowhide and went to the barn after her servant. Hear- 
ing a noise, she paused; and listening, distinctly heard 
the slave praying to the Lord, and supplicating for mercy 
for her hard-hearted mistress. Conviction seized the 
lady's heart; and she exclaimed, 6 Can it be possible that 
my slave thinks more of me and my soul's salvation 
than I do myself?' She returned to the house leaving 
poor Phillis at prayer ; and, retiring to her chamber, fell 
upon her knees and prayed aloud for mercy. Phillis 
heard the cry when she came in, and in a short time the 
Lord converted the lady. The overjoyed slave ran off 



PROGRESS OF THE WORK IN 1782. 231 

to Mrs. Casper, and told her. She came over, and 
found Mrs. Miles happy in God, praising him for what 
he had done in answer to the prayers of poor Phillis. 
At the death of Mrs. Miles, she left Phillis a house, and 
a lot of four acres of land, which, with her freedom, 
enabled her to live comfortably during her life. She 
continued faithful, died happy, and is, no doubt, in the 
kingdom of heaven with her mistress."* 

* Eaybold's Methodism in "West Jersey. 



232 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



CHAPTER XI. 

METHODISM IN SALEM. 

In giving sketches of local Churches we cannot well 
be confined to the chronological method, which we en- 
deavor to preserve, as far as practicable, in our narrative. 
To gain a clear and just idea of the establishment of 
Methodism in any neighborhood or town, it is necessary 
to group together the events of several years, so that 
they may be seen in their appropriate relation to each 
other. On this principle we introduce our sketch of 
early Methodism in Salem at this period in our narra- 
tive, (1782,) which was about the time the first Method- 
ist society was formed in that town. 

As Benjamin Abbott was the most distinguished hero 
of Methodism in Salem county, it will not be improper 
here to notice some of the facts of his personal history 
which are not given in his Memoirs. 

We have elsewhere remarked that though we had no 
definite proof of the fact, yet it was our opinion that 



METHODISM IN SALEM. 



233 



lie lived, at the time of his conversion, in the township 
of Pittsgrove, and that the class which was formed in 
his neighborhood, and of which he was appointed the 
leader, must have been the nucleus of either the Broad 
Neck, or Murphy's, since called Friendship, Church. 
We have since learned that this opinion is in accordance 
with the facts in the case. 

"At the time of his conversion, [1772,] he lived in 
the township of Pittsgrove, and labored for one Benja- 
min Vanmeter, who employed him solely on account of 
his muscular strength ; for otherwise he was very objec- 
tionable, being intemperate, and when so very quarrel- 
some. In the same neighborhood there lived one John 
Murphy, a member of the Presbyterian Church, a man 
of sterling sense and extensive reading, whose house ap- 
pears to have been a home for the Methodist itinerants, 
and among the first preaching places in the county. 
After a time he became a member of the society, quite 
contrary to the wishes of his former friends, so much so 
that they cited him before the session, and wished to 
know why he could not be a Presbyterian. He replied, 
c that he never could believe that God had ordained man 
to sin, and then damned him for doing what he could not 
help. 5 Being displeased at this, they commanded si- 
lence and dismissed him. At the house of John Murphy 
was formed the first Methodist society in this county, 



234 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

and, perhaps, in all Jersey west of Pemberton. Here 
for several years the circuit preachers preached, admin- 
istered the ordinances, held love-feasts, &c, until the so- 
ciety had increased so much that they formed the pur- 
pose to build, which resulted in the erection of a log 
meeting-house. On the same site there was erected, 
about ten years since, a good, substantial brick building, 
and is called on the Salem circuit plan, Friendship. 
Benjamin Abbott was, no doubt, one of the first members 
of this society, as John Murphy was one of his neigh- 
bors ; and it was returning from a visit to J. Murphy's 
that Mr. Abbott's wife was converted." 

The above is the statement which Rev. Jefferson 
Lewis wrote and published twenty years ago. He ob- 
tained his information, no doubt, from authentic sources, 
and hence his testimony is to be believed. It agrees 
precisely with the opinion given on a previous page be- 
fore the writer knew that there was any such corrobora- 
tive testimony in existence. Mr. Lewis, who took the 
pains to investigate the subject at that time, says that 
Abbott, "no doubt, was nearly the first Methodist in 
Salem County." 

The third society that was formed in the county, 
was, it is understood, at Quinton's Bridge, about three 
miles from Salem. It was formed about 1781 or 1782, 
probably as early as 1781. Abbott preached there at 



METHODISM IN SALEM. 



the house of Benjamin Weatherby, and soon formed a 
class, among the members of which were Henry Ffirth 
and John McClaskey. The latter became a distinguished 
preacher, and filled several important appointments, in- 
cluding the cities of New York, Philadelphia, and Balti- 
more, and also that of Presiding Elder. The former 
was a convert from Quakerism, and brother to John 
Ffirth, the compiler of Abbott's Memoir. He was in- 
strumental in the erection of the first Methodist Church 
edifice in the town of Salem. 

Bev. John Lednum, who was stationed in Salem in the 
year 1826, thirty years after the occurrence, and who, 
therefore, had a good opportunity to learn the facts, 
says that Mr. Weatherby was " a zealous laborer in the 
cause of Methodism, and afterward fell away." He 
thinks that he was the person Mr. Abbott publicly ad- 
dressed at the funeral of Mrs. Paul, in Salem, a short 
time before his death, in which address u he called to 
mind the happy hours that he had spent under his roof ; 
how much he (Mr. W.) had done for the cause of God ; 
and how often they had rejoiced together, as fellow-la- 
borers in Christ Jesus ; and then warned him, in the 
most solemn manner, of his impending danger, in the 
love and fear of God, until tears flowed, his strength 
failed, and he was unable to speak any longer." Though 
Mr, W. appeared angry, yet the word produced its in- 



236 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

tended effect; and, after Mr. Abbott's death, he rose 
in a love-feast and declared that God had healed his 
backslidings, and that Mr. Abbott was an instrument in 
the Divine hand in his restoration.* 

"Whether the Penn's Neck," says Mr. Lewis, in the 
sketch from which we have already quoted, — "whether 
the Penn's Neck or Salem society has the precedence, in 
point of time, is difficult to determine. My own opinion, 
however, founded on circumstances, is, that they were 
formed nearly at the same time." 

Methodism was introduced into Salem about the year 
1774. Daniel Ruff, who was appointed that year to 
Chester circuit, and who, as we have before seen, ex- 
changed for a time with William Watters, who was on 
the Trenton circuit, visited the town of Salem and 
preached in the Court-house. Thomas Ware, who was 
then a youth about fifteen years of age, was present and 
heard the sermon. He said when Mr. Ruff entered the 
town he walked into the porch of the tavern, which was 
then kept by an uncle of Mr. Ware, and with whom the' 
latter then lived, " and sat down until the bell rang, 
when he repaired to the house, and opened the exercises 
by singing the hymn beginning, 

1 Fountain of life to all below, 
Let thy salvation roll.'" 

* See Life of Abbott, pp. 270-71. 



METHODISM IX SALEM. 



237 



Sixty-five years after the occurrence of this event Mr. 
"Ware retained a distinct recollection of these words. 
He also remembered having heard Abbott preach about 
this time. The latter, undoubtedly, preached in Salem 
about the same period as Ruff. 

One interesting incident connected with Abbott's min- 
istry in Salem is not given in his Life. He resided at 
the time, in Mannington, the township adjoining Salem, 
to which place he removed about two or three years after 
his conversion. He went into Salem with a load of wood. 
So far as his appearance was concerned, he presented 
rather a sorry figure. He wore an old tattered great- 
coat, girded round the waist with a rope. "Now/ 1 said 
the lawyers, as he advanced up the street, " here is old 
Abbott, let us have some fun, he'll preach for us if we 
will ask him." They did ask him, and he consented to 
preach. The room selected for the service was in the 
tavern opposite the Court-house, called the grand jury 
room. "When Abbott entered the room he looked all 
around, and seeing but one door, he took a chair and 
placed himself in it in order to prevent a retreat on the 
part of his auditors, and announced for his text, "Ye 
serpents, ye generation of vipers, how shall ye escape 
the damnation of hell?" Mr. Ware observed that such 
a flood of terror " had seldom been poured from the lips 

of any preacher. He, however, closed in a tender, win- 
15 



238 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

ning manner, by directing them how to escape ; and as 
Mr. W. intimated, much to their relief. 

" Mr. Abbott continued to labor as a local preacher, 
in his peculiar style, throughout the county, for fifteen 
years ; and, although it was repulsive to many people, 
and particularly so to formalists, he was greatly in- 
strumental in the conversion, not only of the immoral, 
but some who stood high, professionally, in other 
religious societies, Presbyterians, Baptists, Quakers, 
Churchmen, and even Roman Catholics. So great was 
his fame in combating the powers of darkness, espe- 
cially the sin of intemperance, that some thought the 
devils existed in a kind of subjection to him. A certain 
man who had been so addicted to drunkenness as to 
bring on repeated attacks of delirium tremens imagined, 
during one of these attacks, that his bed-room was full 
of devils, that he saw them sticking to the tester of his 
bedstead, &c. ; at the same time alleging that father 
Abbott (as saint and sinner called him) had driven them 
out of Penn's Neck,* and they had come to Salem, and 
nothing would answer but father Abbott's prayers to 
drive them from his bed-room. He was accordingly sent 
for." 

The first meeting-house in Salem was erected in the 
year 1784. Henry Ffirth superintended the enterprise. 

* Abbott removed from Mannington to Penn's Neck, about 1781. 



METHODISM IN SALEM. 



239 



He was thought to possess some wealth at the time, but 
he failed shortly after, which gave occasion to the ene- 
mies of Methodism to say, " The Methodists have ruined 
him!" The truth was, however, he was involved beyond 
recovery before he became a Methodist. 

When the attempt was made to build a Church in Sa- 
lem, the society, which was small and scattered, found 
themselves too weak to accomplish the undertaking. 
They therefore called upon their Quaker neighbors for 
assistance, and they subscribed liberally. The matter 
was talked over at the Friends' Quarterly-meeting, and 
it was objected that the Methodist preachers " spoke for 
hire." To this it was answered, " No, it was only for a 
passing support." At length consent was given that 
Friends who were free to do so, might contribute towards 
the enterprise.* 

Benjamin Abbott was baptized in this Church soon 
after it was finished. Although he was converted about 
twelve years previously, and commenced preaching 
shortly after, he was not baptized, in consequence of the 
Methodist ministry being an unordained ministry, until 
the Salem Church was erected. 

The Rev. J. Lewis, in his sketch of Salem Methodism, 
published in 1839, says : — 

"The planting of Methodism in Salem was accom- 

* Asburys Journal, vol. i. p. 464. 



240 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



panied with many circumstances common to its introduc- 
tion in other places, and some rather peculiar ; one of 
the latter I shall mention. The Methodists, on applica- 
tion to the magistrates, had obtained such effectual relief 
from open violence that their persecutors were obliged 
to have recourse to some new expedient to accomplish 
their purposes, without rendering themselves amenable 
to justice. The method to which they resorted was 
this : to assemble together in a place of their own, in 
order to turn experimental religion into a farce. In 
this burlesque on religion, the persons present acted 
band-meetings, class-meetings, and love-feasts to the 
great entertainment of the profane congregation, who, 
with corresponding irreverence and much apparent sat- 
isfaction, enjoyed this new species of theatrical mirth. 

"It happened, one night, while they were performing 
a band-meeting, that a young actress stood upon one of 
the benches to speak her pretended experience. At 
length, after having said much to command the mirth of 
the delighted audience, she exclaimed, with mock solem- 
nity, at the same time beating her breast, £ Glory be to 
God, I have found peace, I am sanctified, and am now 
fit to die/ Scarcely had the unhappy girl uttered these 
words before she actually dropped from the bench a life- 
less corpse. 

" Struck with this awful visitation the auditors were 



METHODISM IX SALEM. 



241 



instantly seized with inexpressible terror, and every face 
filled with consternation and dismay. The assembly im- 
mediately broke up ; and, in consciousness of having 
gone beyond the bounds of common profaneness, they 
all silently and sneakingly retired to their respective 
habitations, except the mournful few left behind to take 
charge of the melancholy victim. From this moment 
all persecution was at an end in Salem, and not a tongue 
was afterward heard either against the gospel or any of 
its friends.* 

"An aged member of society, who joined about ten 
years after this circumstance took place, informs me that 
the young woman did not die immediately, but was car- 
ried, after falling, first to the house of her sister, who, 
understanding the circumstances, refused to receive her, 
and, in being conveyed thence, she actually died upon 
the wheelbarrow with which they conveyed her. This 
occurrence must have taken place some time about 1792, 
when Benjamin Abbott and David Bartine traveled the 
Salem circuit, one of the seven circuits in New Jersey." 

In the same territory in which there were then seven 
circuits, there are now two conferences, and nearly three 
hundred circuits and stations, and in Salem there are 
now two large Churches, each one supporting its own 
pastor. Such has been the growth of Methodism within 
that period. 

* Dr. Coke's Journal, page 186. 



242 MEMORIALS OE METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



CHAPTER XII. 

SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 

We meet this year for the last time in New Jersey, 
William Watters, the first traveling preacher raised 
up in America, and one of the first that regularly la- 
bored in New Jersey. He returned this year simply tc 
visit the scenes of his former toils and the friends of 
other days. He moved slowly, visiting several places, 
and proclaimed again to his delighted friends the gospel 
which seven years before he had preached with so much 
success among them. During his visit he ^vas suffering 
from the ague, which rendered him, in some degree, unfit 
for labor ; yet the demands made upon him were such 
that he could not well refrain from preaching, as he says, 
"I was obliged to preach oftener amongst my old friends 
than I wished, for my ague and fever attended me as 
constantly as the day." He speaks of the work of re- 
ligion being, at this time, in a prosperous condition in 
the portion of the State which he visited. We cannot 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 



243 



take our final leave of him without lingering to cast a 
more minute survey over the history of his useful life. 

As we have already seen, he was born in 1751, (his 
birth occurring on the 16th day of October,) in Balti- 
more county, Maryland. His parents were members of 
the Church of England, and at the age of two years he 
was deprived of his father by death. The family were 
left in comfortable circumstances, though not rich, and 
at a very early age William was the subject of religious 
impressions, " but was naturally vain, proud, self-willed, 
passionate." " Cursing, swearing, lying, and such like 
practices," he says, "were not allowed in my mother's 
family; and from my infancy I always found the great- 
est affection for her, as one of the best of parents ; and 
if, at any time, I was sensible that I had grieved her in 
any degree, I never could be at rest till I had humbled 
myself, and she had shown me tokens of forgiveness." 

At the age of eight or nine years, he was beset with 
temptations to curse God, which, he says, "would often 
make me shudder, and with all my might, I would try to 
put away such troublesome thoughts out of my mind, 
but was not able; so that it was not uncommon for me, 
at such times, in the utmost distress inwardly to reply — 
No — no ! not for the world; but would conclude that, 
as God knew my heart, I had actually cursed him as 
though I had spoken aloud, and that this was the unpar- 



244 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

donable sin that our Saviour said should never be for- 
given, which would greatly distress me ; while I thought 
myself, at such times, one of the vilest sinners on earth, 
and was frequently afraid that all who saw me would 
know how wicked I was. At other times I was much 
terrified with thoughts of death and the torments of 
hell ; though it was a very rare thing I ever heard any 
one say a word on those momentous subjects. 

"As I grew older, I was more and more engaged in 
seeking death in the error of my ways, and by the time 
I was twelve or fourteen I took great delight in dancing, 
in card-playing, in attending horse-racing, and such like 
pernicious practices; though often terrified with the 
thoughts of eternity in the midst of them, which would 
frequently so damp all my momentary joys, that I would 
feel very miserable indeed. Thus did my precious time 
roll around, while I was held in the chains of my sins, 
too often a willing captive of the devil; I had no one to 
tell me the evil of sin, or to teach me the way of life 
and salvation. The two ministers in the two parishes, 
with whom I was acquainted, were both immoral men, 
and had no gifts for the ministry ; if they received their 
salary, they appeared to think but little about the souls 
of the people. The blind were evidently leading the 
blind, and it was the mere mercy of God that we did not 
all fall into hell together." 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 



245 



In the summer of 1770 the Methodists preached in 
the neighborhood where he was brought up, and he had 
frequent opportunities of hearing them. They preached 
the doctrine of the new birth, but he could not conceive 
what it meant; and for some time he gave but little 
thought to the truths he heard, yet he dared not despise 
and revile the Methodists as many then did. "By fre- 
quently being in company with several of my old ac- 
quaintances, " he says, " who had embraced and professed 
Methodism, amongst whom was my eldest brother and 
his wife, (whom I thought equal to any religious people 
in the world), and to hear them all declare, as with one 
voice, that they knew nothing of heart religion, the re- 
ligion of the Bible, till since they heard the Methodists 
preach, utterly confounded me : and I could but say 
with Xicodemus, 'How can these things be?' While I 
was marveling and wondering at these unheard-of things 
that those strange people were spreading wherever 
they came, and before I was aware, I found my heart 
inclined to forsake many of my vain practices, and the 
last place of merriment I was ever at, I remember well, 
I was hardly even a looker-on" 

The Spirit strove with him, and he soon became quite 
serious, read his Bible with attention, was uniform and 
earnest in private prayer, took pleasure in the company 
of the pious, and shunned the society of others. He 



246 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

embraced every opportunity of hearing the gospel and 
the last month before he was fully convinced of his real 
condition as a sinner, he says, he seldom, if ever, omitted 
bowing his "knees before the God and Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, four or five times a day." Yet all 
this while, he says, he was but a Pharisee, seeking to be 
justified by the deeds of the law, though he was sincere 
in all that he did. 

At length, after having more than an ordinary amount 
of religious concern for several days, he attended a 
prayer meeting one Sabbath day. " While one was at 
prayer," he says, "1 saw a man near me, who I knew 
to be a poor sinner, trembling, weeping, and praying, as 
though his all depended on the present moment; his soul 
and body were in an agony. Mercy — Mercy for Christ's 
sake ! was the burden of his cry. The gracious Lord, 
•who works by what means he pleases, blessed this cir- 
cumstance greatly to my conviction ; so that I felt, in a 
manner which I have not words fully to express, that I 
must be internally changed — that I must be born again, 
born of the Spirit, or never see the face of God in glory. 
Without this I was deeply sensible that all I had done, 
or could do, was vain and of no account, if not done as 
the Lord had appointed, in order to obtain this Divine 
change, this new nature. I went home much distressed, 
and fully determined, by the grace of God, to seek the 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 247 

salvation of my soul with my whole heart, and never 
rest till I knew the Lord had blotted out my sins, and 
shed his love abroad in my heart by the Holy Ghost. 
In this frame of mind, I soon got by myself, and fell 
upon my knees before my merciful God, who had spared 
me through a life of sin and ingratitude. But, oh ! alas ! 
my heart, my sinful heart felt as a rock ! and, although 
I believed myself in the 6 gall of bitterness, and in the 
bonds of iniquity,' and, of course, that if I died in that 
state, I must die eternally ; yet I could not shed one 
tear, neither could I find words to express my wretch- 
edness before my merciful High Priest. I could only 
bemoan my forlorn state, and wandered about through 
the afternoon in solitary places, seeking rest, but found 
none. 

" I returned in the evening to the neighbor's, above 
mentioned, where we had been for public worship, and 
several coming in, joined in prayer, and the Lord again 
smote my rocky heart, and caused it to gush out with 
penitential sorrow for my many sins against him who so 
6 loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, 
that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but 
have everlasting life.' I was so melted down, and blessed 
with such a praying heart, that I should have been glad 
if they would have continued on their knees all night in 
prayer for me a poor helpless wretch. My concern was 



248 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

such, that I feared lying down or closing my eyes, lest I 
should wake in hell. 

" The following day I was unfit for any worldly business, 
and spent that day mostly in private, while Christ on the 
cross, bleeding, and bearing the sins of the whole world in 
his own body, and dying to make a full atonement for the 
chief of sinners, that they might not die eternally, was 
continually before the eyes of my mind ; while, in the 
most bitter manner, did my soul exclaim, Oh ! how have 
I slighted the bleeding Saviour, and trampled his most 
precious blood under my unhallowed feet, and have done 
despite to the Spirit of grace ! The thoughts and sight 
thereof, now, through Divine mercy, made my eyes to 
run down with tears, while my very heart was ready to 
burst asunder with sorrow. Thus was I bowed down 
and determined to wait at the foot of the cross, while I 
was stripped of all dependence in outward things, and 
was well assured that there was c no other name under 
heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.' " 

He continued to seek the Lord with strong crying and 
tears, oppressed with the burden of his sins, and refus- 
ing "to be comforted but by the Friend of sinners. 55 
So great was his distress that for three days and nights 
he could scarcely eat, drink, or sleep ; his flesh wasted ; 
his strength failed, and he felt most sensibly the force 
of the question — "A wounded spirit who can bear?" 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 249 

For a little time he feared that his state was hopeless — 
that his day of grace had forever passed; but for the 
most part he had a gleam of hope that at some distant 
time God would be merciful to him. At length some de- 
vout friends, who were acquainted with his state, visited 
him, and after some conversation he desired them to 
pray for him. It was about the middle of the day. 
The family were called in, and one gave out the hymn, 

" Give to the winds thy fears, 

Hope and be undismayed &c. 

They all joined in singing, and sung with the spirit and 
in faith, while with eyes flowing with tears, and his face 
turned to the wall, he "felt a lively hope" that the Lord 
would show him mercy. And he was not disappointed. 
" The Lord heard," he says, "and appeared spiritually 
in the midst. A divine light beamed through mv inmost 
soul, which, in a few minutes, encircled me around, sur- 
passing the brightness of the noon-day sun. This di- 
vine glory, with the holy glow that I felt within my soul, 
I feel still as distinct an idea of, as that I ever saw the 
light of the natural sun, or any impression of my mind. 
* * * My burden was gone — my sorrow fled — my 
soul and all that was within me rejoiced in hope of the 
glory of God ; while I beheld such fullness and willing- 
ness in the Lord Jesus to save lost sinners, and my soul 



250 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

so rested on him, that I could now, for the first time, call 
Jesus Christ ' Lord, by the Holy Ghost given unto me.' 
The hymn being concluded, we all fell upon our knees, 
but my prayers were all turned into praises, A super- 
natural power penetrated every faculty of my soul and 
body, and the words of the prophet w^ere literally ful- 
filled in my conversion to God. ' And he shall sit as a 
refiner and purifier of silver ; and He shall purify the 
sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that 
they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteous- 
ness.' Such was the change, and so undeniable to all 
present, that they appeared greatly affected, and confi- 
dent that the Lord had descended in the power of his 
Spirit, and wrought a glorious work in the ' presence of 
them all.'" 

This happy change occurred in May, 1771, in the 
same house in which he was born. Having never known 
or heard of any people but the Methodists, who professed 
to know anything of what he now enjoyed, and as they 
were instrumental in leading him to the attainment of 
salvation, he was led to unite himself with them, " and 
thought it a greater blessing to be received a member 
amongst them than to be made a prince. " 

The Methodists had no regular preaching in those days, 
and at that time there had been only three preachers in 
Maryland, Strawbridge, King, and Williams, so that 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 251 

some times quite a long period would elapse in which 
they had no preaching. "But, in one sense," he says, 
"we were all preachers. .The visible change that sinners 
could not but see, and many openly acknowledged, was 
a means of bringing them to seek the Lord. On the 
Lord's day we commonly divided into little bands, and 
went out into different neighborhoods, wherever there 
was a door open to receive us, two, three, or four in 
company, and would sing our hymns, pray, read, talk to 
the people, and some soon began to add a word of ex- 
hortation. We were weak, but we lived in a dark day, 
and the Lord greatly owned our labors ; for, though we 
were not full of wisdom, we were blessed with a good 
degree of faith and power. The little flock was of one 
heart and mind, and the Lord spread the leaven of his 
grace from heart to heart, from house to house, and from 
one neighborhood to another ; and though our gifts were 
small, yet was it astonishing to see how rapidly the work 
spread all around, bearing down the little oppositions 
with which it met, as chaff before the wind. Many will 
praise God forever for our prayer-meetings. In many 
neighborhoods they soon became respectable, and were 
considerably attended." 

From the time of his conversion he felt a deep solic- 
itude for sinners, and was drawn out in prayer for their 
salvation. He felt willing to make any sacrifice in order 



252 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

to save them, but did not think it possible that he should 
ever be able to labor in a public capacity for their good, 
Finding, however, that his humble endeavors were blessed 
to the conversion of souls in several different neighbor- 
hoods, and that the hearts and houses of the people were 
open to receive him, and at the same time feeling a con- 
viction that it was his duty to labor for God, he sought, 
by fasting and prayer, for divine direction, and finally 
became convinced that he must go forth as a messenger 
of the Most High, to bear the offers of salvation, in His 
name, to the people. 

His first regular field of labor, as an itinerant, was 
Norfolk, Va., where he went with Robert Williams in 
the autumn of 1772. They were kindly received by the 
friends there, but found the state of religion by no 
means encouraging. Hundreds of the people attended 
the preaching, but they were, he says, " the most hard- 
ened, wild, and ill-behaved of any people I had ever be- 
held in any place." 

Mr. Pillmore, who was at that time in Norfolk, took 
a tour as far as Charleston, leaving Watters to fill his 
place during his absence. "As he returned through 
Portsmouth, two men, well dressed, at the ferry, were 
swearing horridly. He lifted up his hands, and with a 
stern voice, exclaimed aloud — '"Well! if I had been 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 253 

brought to this place blindfolded, I should have known 
I was near Norfolk.' 

" The Parish minister of Norfolk undertook, in a ser- 
mon, to represent us as a set of enthusiasts and deceiv- 
ers. His text, for this noble purpose, was, ' Be not over 
righteous.' Amongst other things he told his people, 
(what none of them would have otherwise suspected,) 
that he knew from experience the evil of being over 
righteous. He said so much that his friends were dis- 
satisfied. I suppose he thought that Mr. Pillmore was 
crone to return no more. But he found his mistake, for 

o J 

he returned in a few days after, and gave public notice 
that on such a day and hour he would preach to them 
from 'Be not over wicked,' the words following the par- 
son's. On the hour appointed the town appeared in mo- 
tion, and came out in crowds. After reading his text, 
he informed his congregation why he had given them the 
notice of his intending to preach from these words, and 
why he had made choice of them in particular. That he 
had been creditably informed that a certain divine of 
that town had given the citizens thereof a solemn caution 
against being over righteous. Lifting up his hands with 
a very significant countenance, he exclaimed, ' And in 
Xorfolk he hath given this caution !' The conduct of the 
parson looked (as it certainly was) contemptible. Though 

these were severe reproofs, and from one capable of 
16 



254 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

forming a sound judgment, yet Norfolk continued Nor- 
folk as long as I knew anything about it ; and it was no 
ways strange to me that in a few years after it was con- 
sumed by fire." 

Having entered the itinerant ranks, Waiters continued 
to labor with zeal, fidelity, and success until 1783, when 
he located. His location was caused by his being in a 
feeble state of health, and not receiving that indulgence 
in his appointments which he thought needful under the 
circumstances. But he remained firm in his attachment 
to Methodism, and labored with as much zeal in the lo- 
cal sphere as he had before done in the itinerancy. As 
an illustration of his ministerial labors after he located, 
we give the following account of the first year of his lo- 
cation : " I attended Greenwich preaching-house, forty 
miles from me, every fourth Sabbath; and Leesburg, 
thirty miles off, every fourth Sabbath, besides the places 
between me and those above mentioned. And though I 
was much fatigued in so doing, being still in a weak state 
of health, yet I found the Lord's service to be perfect 
freedom, and feared living to no good purpose." 

In 1786 he again entered upon the regular work of 
the ministry in Berkeley circuit ; but before half a year 
had expired, family considerations compelled him again 
to retire. 

As he was returning home from this circuit, he saw> 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 253 

for the last time, his old friend and fellow laborer, Rich- 
ard Owen (or Owings), who was dangerously ill. He 
says, " He was the first American Methodist preacher, 
though for many years he acted only as a local preacher. 
He was awakened under the preaching of Robert Straw- 
bridge, a local preacher from Ireland, who, with one 
more, Philip Embury, were the first Methodist preachers 
in America. He was a man of respectable family, of 
good natural parts, and of a considerable utterance. 
Though encumbered with a family, he often left wife and 
children, and a comfortable living, and went into many 
distant parts, before we had any traveling preachers 
amongst us, and without fee or reward freely published 
that gospel to others, which he had happily found to be 
the power of God unto his own salvation. After we had 
regular circuit preachers amongst us, he, as a local 
preacher, was ever ready to fill up a gap ; and by his con- 
tinuing to go into neighborhoods where they had no 
preaching, he was often the means of opening the way 
for enlarging old, or forming new circuits in different 
places. Several years before his dissolution, after his 
children were grown up and able to attend to his family 
concerns, he gave himself up entirely to the work of the 
ministry, and finished his course in Leesburg, Fairfax 
circuit, in the midst of many kind friends, but some dis- 
tance from his family. As his last labors were in the 



256 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

circuit where I lived, I had frequent opportunity of be- 
ing in his company, both in public and in private, and 
had every reason to believe that he had kept "himself un- 
spotted from the world, and had the salvation of souls 
much at heart. I wish it was in my power to hold him 
up in his real character, as an example to our present 
race of local preachers. Plain in his dress, plain in his 
manners, industrious and frugal, he bore a good part of 
the burthen and heat of the day in the beginning of that 
work which has since so gloriously spread through this 
happy continent, and was as anxious to be a general 
blessing to mankind as too many now are to get riches, 
and make a show in the world. I shall need make no 
apology for giving this short account of so worthy a man 
to any who knew him. I have been led to it from my 
long and particular acquaintance with him, and there 
not having been (I am sorry to say it) a more public ac- 
count of him. ' Blessed are the dead who die in the 
Lord, from henceforth ; yea, saith the Spirit, that they 
may rest from their labors, and their works do follow 
them.' " 

He returned to the regular work in 1801, in which he 
continued until 1806, when he again retired from the 
ranks of the itinerancy. 

Watters was a man of circumspect life, and of unre- 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 



257 



mitted devotion to the cause and work of God. He ap- 
peared to be but little influenced by considerations of an 
earthly nature, but by prayer, by fastings, by watchful- 
ness, by labors, and by faith unfeigned, he sought the 
rewards of a celestial life. His memory is worthy of 
being cherished by the Church through all her genera- 
tions ; and with the lapse of ages his example will gather 
a brighter lustre, as it stands out serenely amidst the 
fading twilight of the early dawn of American Method- 
ism, invested with a wreath which the hand of Providence 
wove only for him, 

THE FIRST AMERICAN METHODIST ITINERANT PREACHER. 

Richard Ivy was a native of Sussex county, Vir- 
ginia. He entered the itinerancy, probably, in 1777, as 
he stands in the minutes as continued on trial in 1778, 
which is the first time his name appears on the record. 

He was appointed that year to Fluvanna, Ya. The 
following year he was appointed to Brunswick, Ya. ; in 
1780 he was sent to Pittsylvania, Ya. ; in 1781, to Kent, 
Md., with David Abbott, son of Benjamin Abbott ; 1782, 
West Jersey; 1783, Xansernond, Ya. ; 1784, Camden. 
From 1785 to 1793 he was Presiding Elder, his districts 
being chiefly within the territory embraced in South 
Carolina and Georgia. In 1793 he was appointed 



258 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

Traveling Book Steward. In 1794 he desisted from 
traveling to take care of his mother. In 1795 he was 
appointed to Norfolk and Portsmouth. He returned to 
his native place and was making arrangements to retire 
from the itinerant field, when he was taken sick, and 
died in the latter part of this year. " He was a man 
of quick and solid parts," say his brethren, in the obit- 
uary notice given of him in the minutes, and he 
"preached," says Lee, "with a good degree of anima- 
tion." He w r as a devoted man, and manifested a self- 
sacrificing spirit. "He sought not himself any more 
than a Pedicord, a Gill, or a Tunnell — men well known 
in our connection — w T ho never thought of growing rich 
by the gospel ; their great concern and business was to 
be rich in grace and useful to souls. Thus, Ivy, a man 
of affliction, lingering out his latter days, spending his 
all with his life in the work. Exclusive of his patrimony, 
he was indebted at his death."* 

"Soon after I joined the Methodist society," says 
Rev. T. "Ware, "Messrs. Pedicord and Cromwell were 
removed from our circuit, and Dudley and Ivy appointed 
in their places. In one part of the circuit there were 
several families who had received the preachers from the 
beginning. Some of these were the most wealthy and 

* Minutes, vol. J. p. 67. 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 



259 



respectable in the vicinity, only they were suspected of 
being unfriendly to the cause of their country. They 
had joined the Methodists before the war commenced ; 
and though they had committed no act by which they 
could be justly accused of opposition to the declaration 
of independence ; yet, as they refused to bear arms, they 
were considered hostile to it, and the preachers suspected 
of disaffection on account of continuing to preach at 
their houses. 

" Learning that a company of soldiers, quartered near 
one of these appointments, had resolved to arrest the 
first preacher who should come there, and carry him to 
head quarters, I determined to accompany him, hoping, 
as I was acquainted with some of the officers, to con- 
vince them that he was no enemy to his country. The 
preacher was Richard Ivy, who was at that time quite 
young. The rumor of what was about to be done hav- 
ing gone abroad, many of the most respectable inhabit- 
ants of the neighborhood were collected at the place. 
Soon after the congregation were convened, a file of sol- 
diers were marched into the yard and halted near the 
door ; and two officers came in, drew their swords and 
crossed them on the table, and seated themselves, one at 
each side of it, but so as to look the preacher full in the 
face. 

" I watched his eye with great anxiety, and soon saw 



260 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

that he was not influenced by fear. His text was, i Fear 
not, little flocks for it is your Father s good pleasure to 
give you the kingdom' When he came to enforce the ex- 
hortation, 'Fear not/ he paused and said, 6 Christians 
sometimes fear when there is no cause of fear.' And 
so, he added, he presumed it was with some then pre- 
sent. Those men who were engaged in the defence of 
their country's rights meant them no harm. He spoke 
fluently and forcibly in commendation of the cause of 
freedom from foreign and domestic tyranny, looking, at 
the same time, first on the swords and then in the faces 
of the officers, as if he would say, This looks a little too 
much like domestic oppression ; and, in conclusion, bow- 
ing to each of the officers and opening his bosom, said, 
' Sirs, I would fain show you my heart ; if it beats not 
high for legitimate liberty, may it forever cease to 
beat!' 

" This he said in such a tone of voice, and with such 
a look as thrilled the whole audience, and gave him com- 
mand of their feelings. The countenances of the officers 
at first wore a contemptuous frown ; then a significant 
smile ; and then they were completely unarmed, hung 
down their heads, and, before the conclusion of this 
masterly address, shook like the leaves of an aspen. 
Many of the people sobbed aloud, and others cried out, 
Amen ! While the soldiers without (the doors and win- 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 261 

dows being open) swung their hats and shouted. Huzza 
for the Methodist parson! On leaving, the officers 
shook hands with the preacher, and wished him well ; 
and afterward said they would share the last shilling with 
him." 

From the slight information we can gather respecting 
his pulpit abilities, we infer that they must have been of 
a superior order. In public exhortation he was some- 
times very powerful. The man who could follow one of 
Abbott's successful sermons with an exhortation, and 
maintain the interest and feeling of the congregation 
must have possessed considerable power. And this Ivy 
did. At a Quarterly meeting in Maryland, Abbott 
preached on Sabbath morning with such effect that many 
cried aloud, and some were prostrated upon the floor, 
and, "after I concluded," he says, "brother Ivy gave 
an exhortation, and spoke very powerfully, many wept 
under his exhortation." 

John Tunnel was admitted on trial in 1777, and ap- 
pointed to Brunswick circuit, Va., in company with Wil- 
liam "VVatters and Freeborn Garrettson. These were all 
excellent and laborious men, yet their labors in that field 
were not remarkably successful. Much depends upon 
the circumstances under which, and the character of the 
people among whom, the minister labors. Sometimes 



262 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

there may be a large congregation to listen to the word, 
and yet that congregation may be mainly composed of 
persons who already profess to have experienced the 
saving power of the gospel. In that case if a pastor 
builds up the flock in holiness he does a blessed work. 
It is not to be expected that he should have a great 
ingathering of souls, if but few are within the circle of 
his, or his Church's influence, who do not already profess 
religion. Even the strongest and most effective men 
of our primitive ministry did not always witness, imme- 
diately, such results of their labors as they desired. 
This is shown by the following passage from the Life of 
Watters, in regard to his own and Garrettson's and Tun- 
nell's labors in Brunswick circuit : 

"In this circuit," he says, "we had many hearers, 
but only a few of those who were not of our society ap- 
peared to be benefited by our preaching. There were 
large societies in almost every neighborhood, and gener- 
ally speaking, our brethren were lively, many of them 
much so. My hands w T ere full, and my work was much 
greater than my strength ; so that I often feared I did 
not pay that particular attention to every soul of my 
charge, that I ought. My two brethren who labored 
with me were very devout and faithful men, and I was 
not a little comforted in the thought that they would 
supply my lack of service. We endeavored to bear each 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 263 

other's burthens and strengthen each other's hands ; and 
though our success was by no means equal to our wishes, 
yet the Lord did evidently own us in every neighbor- 
hood, both in and out of our societies. We labored to 
the utmost of our abilities in the good and gracious cause 
of our glorious Master, and daily found his service to be 
perfect freedom." 

In 1778 Tunnell was appointed to Baltimore with Jo- 
seph Cromwell, Thomas M'Clure, and John Beck. 
M'Clure had previously labored in Xew Jersey, Crom- 
well and Tunnell also subsequently labored there. In 
1779-80 he was appointed to Berkeley, Ya., with John 
Haggerty ; Micaijah Debruler laboring with them the 
second year as preacher in charge. In 1781 he was ap- 
pointed to Kent, Delaware ; 1782, East Jersey, as 
preacher in charge ; 1783, Kent, Md. ; 1784, Dorches- 
ter, Md. ; 1785, Charleston. In 1786 he was < ; Elder" 
over a district which included East Jersey, Xewark, New 
York, and Long Island. In 1787 he went to East Ten- 
nessee, where he labored as Elder. The circumstances 
under which he went to that missionary field are o-iven 
by Rev. Thomas Ware, in an article published in the 
Christian Advocate and Journal, Feb. 28, 1834, as fol- 
lows : — 

" It was at a Conference in the spring of 1787 where 
three young men, who esteemed the reproach of Christ 



264 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

greater riches than all earthly treasures, volunteered to 
accompany the Rev. John Tunnell on a mission to East 
Tennessee, then called Holstein. A mission at that 
time to this section of country was no less perilous than 
one at this time is to the coast of Western Africa. 

"East Tennessee, though very remote from trade, is 
a fine country. It is finely watered by five rivers, of 
which Holstein is the chief ; but none of them is navi- 
gable but for small boats. The bottoms along the water 
courses are very rich, and here the first settlers became 
located, and of course the population was vastly scat- 
tered, insomuch that a parochial ministry could not be 
supported. And, although it had become a State, it 
might rather have been called a pagan, than a Christian 
State ; for when we arrived there, there were not more 
than four or five sorry preaching-houses within its whole 
jurisdiction, two of which had been built by the Meth- 
odists. 

"Here, then, was a pressing call for itinerants. And 
the pious father of Mr. Tunnell had written an affecting 
letter to his son, describing their destitution of the 
means of grace, and urging him to come to them, and 
bring with him two or three young men who counted not 
their lives dear, so that they might save souls, and closed 
with — Let no one come who is afraid to die : their lives 
will often be in jeopardy from the red men of the wilder- 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 



265 



ness. And the Rev. EL Willis, who had traveled one 
year in Holstein, said, All that good old Mr. Tunnell 
had said was true, and more ; and in his view all that 
went on this mission should know all about it — should 
know if they traveled there, they must ford and swim the 
rivers at the risk of life ; sleep, if they could, in the 
summer in blankets, and in winter in open log-cabins, 
with light bed-clothes, and often with two or three child- 
ren in bed with you. But in particular, he should know 
that he was going to a frontier country, infested with 
savage men, cruel as the grave. Yes, continued he, the 
red man, seeing his possessions wasting away as the 
white man approaches, has become infuriated, and is re- 
solved to sell his country at the dearest rate, and, sav- 
age-like, wreaks his vengeance indiscriminately ; hence 
many a hapless virgin, or mother and her innocent babes, 
are slaughtered or led away captives ; moreover, it is 
needful that they should know clothing is dear and 

monev scarce." 
*/ 

Notwithstanding the perils that awaited them, Tunnell 
and his associates heroically entered that rugged field 
which so greatly needed their evangelical labors, and he 
continued there to toil until the Master said, "It is 
enough ! Come up higher." 

In 1T88 he was elder over a very large district which 
included ten circuits and extended into North Carolina. 



266 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

Ill 1789 he was elder in East Tennessee. This was his 
last appointment. He died of consumption at the Sweet 
Springs, in July, 1790. 

Tunnell was a man of placid spirit, and " was no less 
tranquil in his death than in his life." He was deficient 
in physical strength, and his " appearance very much re- 
sembled that of a dead man," but he possessed a strong, 
musical voice, with which he frequently "poured forth a 
flood of heavenly eloquence," when he seemed like "a 
messenger from the invisible world." "A sailor was 
one day passing where Tunnell was preaching. He 
stopped to listen and was observed to be much affected ; 
and, on meeting with his companions after he left, he 
said, 6 1 have been listening to a man who has been dead 
and in heaven ; but he has returned, and is telling the 
people all about that world.' And he declared to them 
he had never been so much affected by anything he had 
ever seen or heard before."* 

Asbury visited him during his illness, and found him 
very low, "but very humble and patient under his afflic- 
tion." The Bishop attended his funeral, on occasion of 
which he recorded the following tribute in his Journal : 
" Brother Tunnell's corpse was brought to Dew's Chapel. 
I preached his funeral : my text, ' For me to live is 
Christ, and to die is gain.' We were much blessed and 

* Life of Kev. Thomas Ware, p. 85. 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 



267 



the power of God was eminently present. It is about 
fourteen years since brother Tunnell first knew the 
Lord; and he has spoken about thirteen years, and 
traveled through eight of the thirteen states ; few men, 
as public ministers, were better known or more beloved. 
He was a simple hearted, artless, child-like man ; for his 
opportunities he was a man of good learning, had a large 
fund of Scripture knowledge, was a good historian, a 
sensible, improving preacher, a most affectionate friend, 
and a great saint ; he had been wasting and declining 
in strength and health for eight years past, and for the 
last twelve months sinking into a consumption." 

Lee, the first historian of American Methodism, pays 
a tribute to Tunnell's excellence and gifts as follows : — 
" Mr. Tunnell was elected to the office of an elder at 
the Christmas Conference, when we were first formed 
into a Church. His gifts, as a preacher, were great ; 
and his conduct, as a pious man, was worthy of imita- 
tion. He was greatly beloved in his life, and much la- 
mented in his death. He died about a mile to the west 
of the Sweet Sp rings. His friends took his remains 
over the mountain to a meeting-house about five miles 
east of the Sweet Springs, where they buried him." 

Joseph Everett was born m Queen Ann's county, 
Maryland, June 17, 1732. His parents were neither 



268 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

rich nor poor, but were accustomed to labor, and trained 
their son to habits of industry. They were without 
religion, except the name, and called themselves of 
the Church of England. Until he was twenty years of 
age Joseph never heard a gospel sermon. The preaching 
he did hear had no savor of Christ and no unction of the 
Spirit. It consisted of such dry moral teachings as an 
irreligious clergyman might be expected to furnish to his 
hearers. 

At an early age he became addicted to the vices of 
profanity, falsehood, &c, and continued in a course of 
open sinfulness until after he was married. His wife 
was about equally devoted to the pleasures of sin as 
himself, and they walked together in the downward path. 
He, however, had, during his career of folly, frequent 
unrest of soul, and was afraid of death, and sometimes 
felt such a sense of guilt as would cause him to resolve to 
reform his life, but his resolutions, he says, were but as 
u ropes of sand." 

At length the New-lights, or Whitefieldites, entered 
the region where he lived, preaching the fundamental 
doctrines of Christianity. He went to hear them. His 
views of the nature of religion now underwent a change. 
He had thought that it consisted in breaking away from 
outward sin, but he now saw it was a change of the 
heart— the infusion of a new life into the soul. He be- 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 



269 



came convinced of the necessity of the new birth, and 
entered upon a course of religious duties with the hope 
of obtaining it. He read his Bible, prayed in secret 
and with his family, observed the Sabbath, and attended 
preaching, while his mind was engrossed with the con- 
cerns of his eternity. A clearer light dawned upon his 
spirit, but his heart did not find rest. He felt himself 
to be one of the most miserable of men, and would even 
envy the brutes because they had no souls. Thus he 
continued for nearly two years, and though his outward 
life was greatly changed, and he entered into communion 
with the Church, and was regarded by many as a good 
Christian, yet he had not conscious peace with God. 
The hour of deliverance, however, came at last. 

" One Sabbath day,''" he says, " as I was sitting in my 
house, none of the family being at home, meditating on 
the things of God, I took up the Bible, and it providen- 
tially opened at the eleventh chapter of St. Luke's Gos- 
pel ; and casting my eyes on the fifth verse, read to the 
fourteenth. And that moment I saw there was some- 
thing in religion that I was a stranger to. I laid down 
the Bible, and went directly up into a private chamber 
to seek the blessing. And everlasting praises be to Him 
who has said, Seek, and ye shall find. I was on my 
knees but a very few moments before he shed abroad his 

lo* e in such a manner in my heart, that I knew Jesus 
77 



270 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

Christ was the Saviour of the world and the everlasting 
Son of the Father, and my Saviour ; and that I had re- 
demption in his blood, even the forgiveness of my sins. 
I felt these words by the power of his Spirit run through 
my soul, so that the tongue of a Gabriel could not have 
expressed what I felt; I have loved, thee with an ever- 
lasting love, therefore with loving-kindness have I draivn 
thee. I felt such rapture, and saw with the eyes of my 
soul such beauties in the Lord Jesus Christ, as opened 
such a heaven of love in my breast, that I could with the 
poet sing the following lines :— 

' I then rode on the sky, 

Freely justified I, 
Nor did envy Elijah his seat ; 

My soul mounted higher 

In a chariot of fire, 
And the moon it was under my feet.' 

So that being justified by faith, I had peace with God, 
through our Lord Jesus Christ. I rejoiced in hope of 
the glory of God."* 

For some time he contiuued in the enjoyment of the 
Divine favor, but through the influence of what he after- 
ward regarded as false teaching, respecting the deliver- 

* An account of the most remarkable Occurrences of the Life of 
Joseph Everett. In a letter to Bishop Asbury. Arminian Maga- 
zine, (American) vol. II. 1790. 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS 



271 



ance of the soul from the indwelling of sin in this life, 
and by neglecting the means necessary to the mainten- 
ance of a life of piety, he relapsed into formality and 
sin. "I went/ 3 he says, "to hear preaching, as usual, 
but my conscience reproached me and told me I was a 
hypocrite. I prayed in my family, but no life — my 
visits to my closet were short, and very seldom ; and, 
withal, uncomfortable. I would talk about religion, but 
my heart was after my idols. In plain truth, I lived in 
such a manner as I thought it impossible for a Christian 
to live — though my principle was, there was no falling 
from justifying grace. And, indeed, it was impossible 
for me to fall, for I had shamefully fallen already." 

He wandered further and further from the way of 
peace until he was excluded from communion with the 
Church, and became an open, reckless transgressor. At 
the commencement of the war of the revolution he be- 
came a zealous whig, and volunteered in the service of 
his country. Such was his courage as a soldier, that he 
says before he would have fled from the place of action 
or danger without orders, he would have fallen dead 
upon the spot, though his soul would have been lost for 
ever. 

A man of so brave and resolute a spirit, if he could 
but be properly enlisted on the side of righteousness, 
and trained to use the sword of the Spirit, could not fail 



272 MEMORIALS OE METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

to make an earnest champion for the truth, nor to endure 
hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. God had 
prepared the instrumentality already by means of which 
he was to be inducted into the arts of a spiritual war- 
fare, and equipped for a sublimer battle than earth's he- 
roes ever fought. 

When he returned from the camp he found that a 
people called Methodists had entered the neighborhood, 
who proclaimed to the people that they all might be 
saved. He did not approve the doctrine and determined 
to oppose them, not having " the least thought that they 
were sent of God." When opportunity served he did 
not fail to manifest his decided antipathy to the new 
sect, but "always," he says, "behind their backs, or at 
a distance. As I have frequently seen since, our great- 
est enemies are those who will not hear us ; and if at 
any time they do come out, they pay so little attention 
to what they hear, and run away with a sentence here 
and there, that they fill the hearts of the people with 
prejudice." 

In this course he continued until the spring of 1778, 
when, after considerable hesitation, he was led to go to 
the house of a Mr. White, one of his neighbors, to hear 
a Methodist preach. Mr. Asbury was the preacher. 
After singing and prayer he expounded the second chap- 
ter of Judges. There was nothing in the exposition to 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 



273 



find fault with, he says, unless he rejected it because the 
speaker was a Methodist. No part of the discourse pro- 
duced any special effect upon his conscience, but his 
prejudice was shaken, and henceforth the avenues to his 
heart were open and he found power to pray, though for 
twelve or fourteen years he had not bowed his knees in 
secret. 

He now felt the return of the Spirit to his heart, con- 
vincing him of sin, and empowering him to employ the 
means necessary to his salvation. He lost his attach- 
ment to the society of the wicked, and also his delight 
in military affairs. The Methodists noticed and encour- 
aged him. One, particularly, who knew that he held 
Calvinistic opinions, used every prudent means to ren- 
der his convictions effectual, and placed the writings of 
Wesley and Fletcher in his hands to show him the dif- 
ference between the Arminian and the Calvinistic tenets. 
This he did with such prudence " that he entirely pre- 
vented the least prejudice, and made way for liberal 
principles to take place." 

A single well-timed and apt remark is sometimes the 
means, under God, of flashing the light of volumes of 
truth upon the inquiring but beclouded understanding. 
So was it with Everett. His Methodist friend once re- 
marked in his hearing, " that if Christ died for all the 
world, all the world was salvable ; and they that were 



274 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

lost were lost by their own fault," -which, he says, gave 
him a better insight into- the scheme of redemption than 
all his reading, and all the conversation, and preaching 
he had ever heard had afforded him. 

He became more and more engaged to secure his sal- 
vation, which he " found the devil as much engaged to 
prevent. ' ' Often when employed in devotion it would seem 
as if he could hear the adversary say, " What ! you are 
at prayers again, are you ? You had better quit, for 
after a while you will tire and leave off as you did be- 
fore." At the same time he was a by-word in the mouth 
of the world. But notwithstanding these " fears within, 
and lightings without," he went forward in the way 
pointed out in the Divine word until the fifth of April, 
1778, when between seven and eight o'clock in the even- 
ing his soul was again set at liberty, and he rejoiced in 
the love of God which was shed abroad in his heart by 
the Holy Ghost. 

He now sought to find out the truth. He read the works 
of Wesley and Fletcher, and attended Methodist preach- 
ing. As his peace had been restored, he wished to know 
how he might preserve it, and in worshiping with the 
Methodists he found comfort and strength. Still he did 
not join the society. His reason for this was, he says : 
a I knew that they were a despised people, and thought 
if I did not join them I might be more useful when it 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 



275 



was known that I was not a member of their society. 
But I soon found this to be very poor logic ; for the 
children of the devil hate the light, let it come from 
where it will. I read Mr. Wesley on perfection ; but 
the mist of Calvinism was not altogether wiped from off 
my mind. With the Calvinists I was taught that temp- 
tations were sin. I did not attend to the law of God to 
find out what sin was. I could not distinguish between 
sin and infirmities, and hardly believe that any Antino- 
mian can. They say all we do is sin. We are told that 
the sacrifices of the wicked are an abomination to the 
Lord. But this is no proof that the children of God 
commit sin. I believe with the apostle that he that is 
born of God sinneth not ; — and he that does is of the 
devil. I believe that in every justified soul there is the 
root of every iniquity. Yet if he faithfully uses the 
grace and power already given to him, he thereby keeps 
himself from transgressing the law, which alone is sin ; 
and therefore the evil one, the devil, touches him not. 
And I believe that it is the privilege of every babe in 
Christ to grow in grace ; not only to be young men and 
to be strong, but to become fathers in Christ ; to receive 
the fulness of all the rich promises of the gospel : such 
as the law of God on their hearts ; to love the Lord 
with all their soul ; to be dead to the world and crucified 
with Christ, &c, all which I believe to be the common 



276 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



privileges of all believers in this day ; though it is to be 
much lamented that many live beneath them. And I 
praise the Lord that I am as much confirmed in the doc- 
trine of full sanctification, as I am that a man may 
know that his sins are forgiven on this side the grave." 

The Methodists invited him to class, but did not per- 
suade him to join. In reading, and in conversing with 
them, he " began to feel," he says, " the necessity of 
joining the society; which I did with this view, to grov/ 
in grace myself, and to strengthen the hands of the 
preachers in the work of God, because I thought it to be 
the will of God, which ought to be our end in all we do. 
I saw the necessity of mortifying the corrupt cravings 
of the flesh, as well as using all the means of grace, in 
order to be perfected in love ; which constitutes a Meth- 
odist." 

Having united himself with the Methodists, and being 
well pleased with their doctrines and discipline, he was 
impelled by his zeal for the salvation of souls to speak 
to his acquaintances on the subject of religion and even 
to proclaim publicly the gospel of reconciliation. " Be- 
fore he had been officially authorized," says Rev. Wm. 
Ryder, "he commenced sounding the alarm to rebellious 
sinners. He came truly with the thunders of the law. 
The Lord owned his word, and many were convinced. 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 277 

convicted, and happily converted to God through his 
labors."* 

Finding that his word was rendered effectual in the 
accomplishment of good, he began to be deeply exer- 
cised in mind about preaching, and these impressions 
continually attended him. Obstacles, arising from a 
sense of his weakness and inability for so important a 
calling, rose before him, and caused him to hesitate. 
" Ten thousand difficulties," he says, "would shut up 
the way, and made it appear an impossibility, yet it con- 
stantly pursued me." 

Pedicord then traveled the circuit in which he resided, 
of whom he says, "that man of God;" and he sent for 
him to meet him at an appointment in Delaware. He 
was well acquainted with Pedicord and complied with his 
request. After Pedicord preached, he asked Everett to 
exhort, which he did, and before they parted he gave 
him a license to exhort. 

He continued to labor earnestly and zealously for the 
cause, attending at the same time to his secular employ- 
ment, until the latter part of the year 1780, when he 
entered upon his itinerant career, as the colleague of 
Pedicord, on Dorset circuit. Here his labors were 
blessed of the Lord, and he remained until February, 
1781, when Pedicord received a letter from Asbury, di- 

- ;: * Christian Advocate and Journal, May 12, 1837. 



278 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



reeling that Everett should go to Annamessex circuit. 
He accordingly removed to his new field of labor, where 
he proclaimed the truth successfully until November, 
when, as we have seen, he was sent by Bishop Asbury 
to West Jersey. There he labored with success, having 
many seals to his ministry, until the Conference in May, 
when he was appointed to East Jersey, where he like- 
wise labored successfully until November, when he went 
to Philadelphia. He remained there, the work prosper- 
ing meanwhile, until the Conference in May, 1783, when 
he was appointed to Baltimore. That part of the Phila- 
delphia circuit which profited least under their labors, 
he says, was the city ; and for this he assigned the fol- 
lowing reason : — " They resemble too much the Corinth- 
ians ; one saying, I am of Paul, another, I am of Apol- 
los, and another, I am of Cephas. Where this is the 
case there are very few to follow Christ. They are like 
weathercocks, which can never be kept at one point." 

A source of severe trial to him in the beginning of 
his ministry was the opposition of his unconverted wife, 
wdio strongly disapproved of his traveling. Notwith- 
standing, he went forward in the way of duty, praying 
that she might be brought to a better mind. His pray- 
ers were now answered in her conversion. H She saw," 
he says, "how she had been fighting against the Lord, 
in treating me wrongfully; which wounded her very 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 279 

sensibly ; and this was sweet revenge to me. Here I 
saw the word of the Lord was fulfilled, to wit, ' Be not 
weary in well doing, for in due season ye shall reap if 
ye faint not.' That man should always pray and not 
faint. She had no more objection to my traveling." 

His travels, as an itinerant preacher, extended over a 
very large field, embracing appointments in Virginia, 
Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. He was or- 
dained a deacon in 1786, and an elder in 1788. He 
filled important appointments in the connection, includ- 
ing that of Presiding Elder, in which office he spent a 
number of years of his ministerial life. In 1804 he was 
so worn out that he was unable to perform effective labor, 
and he was placed on the superannuated list, yet he con- 
tinued in strictest union with his brethren of the Confer- 
ence until his death. 

Everett was a remarkable man. In reviewing his 
character and life, we have been forcibly reminded of 
the Apostle Paul. Some of the distinguishing traits in 
the character of the great apostle were strongly marked 
in him. He was a man of dauntless courage and heroic 
bravery, yet, at the same time, he possessed a meekness 
and tenderness of spirit becoming the lowly disciple of 
Jesus. He was resolute and conscientious in the per- 
formance of duty, and neither the threatening of the 
wicked, nor the smiles of friends had any influence to 



280 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

turn him aside from the path of right. He went to 
Dorset circuit in 1786, where he found the work of re- 
ligion declining, but the failing embers soon broke forth 
into a flame. This he attributed to the excluding of un- 
worthy members and the maintaining of discipline in the 
Church. "I view it," he says, " as a capital fault in a 
Methodist preacher not to be a disciplinarian ; and if 
ever our Church loses the life of religion, it will be for 
want of discipline." Utterances so weighty and truth- 
ful deserve to ring through the Church like notes from 
the trumpet of destiny. 

" Wherever he traveled and labored," say his breth- 
ren, "he was like a flame of fire, proclaiming the thun- 
ders of Sinai against the wicked, and the terrors of the 
Lord against the ungodly. Few men in the ministry 
were ever more zealous and laborious; he was bold, un- 
daunted, and persevering in the discharge of his various 
ministerial duties, and the Lord prospered his labors and 
gave him seals to his ministry. He was abundant in la- 
bors as long as his strength endured. He feared the 
face of no man, but sought the good of all." 

At length, after a long life of seventy-seven years, 
and a ministry of nearly thirty years, remarkable for 
activity and success, he came down to the verge of Jor- 
dan. The Saviour, in whom he had trusted, and whose 
presence had cheered him amid his toils and trials, was 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 281 

with him to the last. The final scene "was one of im- 
pressive, of sublime Christian triumph. " His last ex- 
piring breath, his last articulation with the quivering, 
exhausted lamp of life, were devoutly employed and 
closed in the solemn and pious exercise of giving honor, 
and praise, and glory to God; in the same important 
moment, his life, his breath, and his shouts were hushed 
in the solemn silence of death, while his enraptured 
spirit took its flight from the tenement of clay, or earthly 
tabernacle, to the habitation above, the house not made 
with hands, eternal in the heavens. "* 

On the night of his death, October 16, 1809, he awoke 
from a gentle slumber, and with emotions of ecstatic 
rapture he shouted, Glory ! glory ! glory ! and in this 
holy and exultant exercise, so befitting the end of his 
victorious career, he continued about twenty-five minutes, 
when, as the sound of the last note of triumph from his 
lips died away in the silence of the chamber of death, 
his purified and heroic spirit passed through the celestial 
gates, to join the innumerable company of angels, and 
the Church of the first born in heaven. 

* Minutes of Conference, vol. I. pp. 180-81. 



282 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

INCIDENTS AND LABORS. 

The Conference of 1783 was held at Ellis's Preach- 
ing-house, Virginia, the 6th of May. Of this Confer- 
ence Asbury says, " Some young laborers were taken in 
to assist in spreading the gospel, which greatly prospers 
in the north. We all agreed in the spirit of African 
liberty, and strong testimonies were borne in its favor 
in our love-feast; our affairs were conducted in love." 

The ministerial force in New Jersey was increased this 
year, six preachers being appointed to the State. Sam- 
uel Rowe, James Thomas, Francis Spry, and William 
Ringold were appointed to East Jersey, and Woolman 
Hickson and John Magary to West Jersey. At this 
Conference New Jersey reported a membership of one 
thousand and twenty-eight, four hundred and ninety of 
whom were in West Jersey, and five hundred and thirty- 
eight in East Jersey. The number of members in the 



INCIDENTS AND LABORS. 



283 



entire connection was thirteen thousand, seven hundred 
and forty. 

Methodism was now exerting such an influence in dif- 
ferent parts of the State, that some of the ministers of 
other sects proclaimed their opposition to it. Asbury 
visited the southern part of West Jersey this year, and 
on Sunday, the 21st of September, he was at New Eng- 
landtown, a small village five miles south of Bridgeton, 
"but their minister," he says, "had warned the people 
against hearing us." He proceeded the same day to 
Bridgeton, and found that a Mr. Vantull had made an 
appointment to preach at the same hour as himself, al- 
though his appointment had been published some time 
previously. As he arrived there before Vantull, how- 
ever, he "preached in the Court-house, and cleared out; 
those who remained met with hard blows." Methodism 
did not become established in Bridgeton until about twenty 
years afterward. The following evening he was at Sa- 
lem, where he preached; a number of Friends being 
present and attending with seriousness upon the word. 

The progress of the cause in West Jersey, this year, 
was not considerable, but it held its own, and added 
twenty-three to its membership. 

Rev. Geo. A. Raybold gives the following concerning 
early Methodism in Atlantic county, in which were some 
of the first societies in West Jersey: "In early days, 



284 MEMORIALS OE METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



when Methodism was first introduced in the neighbor- 
hood of Hammonton, the deer were so numerous that 
they could often be seen from the doors of the village 
houses. The original proprietor of the property has 
often shot down with his gun the stately buck or burly 
bear, within a few hundred yards from the dwelling of 
the family. Many a thrilling narrative of hunting 
scenes could be recounted, if the recital would not be 
considered too much of an episode in the annals of 
Methodism. The preachers of those days sometimes 
went out into the deep forest to bring down the deer for 
the purpose of securing food for their own families. 
Old brother W., a Jerseyman by birth, was an expert 
hunter of beasts, as well as men, and this was all right. 
Many a rough hunter and woodsman possessed and car- 
ried with him constantly the gem of grace. Many a 
rough, rustic cabin of logs, contained a family devoted 
to God, wherein, at stated intervals, all the members 
gathered round the family altar, and the social fireside, 
where the huge pine logs, rolled into the vast, cavern-like 
fireplace, sent up a ruddy flame, augmented to a degree 
of almost fierce brilliancy, by the blaze of the pine 
knots, gathered for the winter fire, and used instead of 
candles. Perhaps the oldest grave-yard in this part of 
West Jersey, is that of Pleasant Mills. Ancient head- 
stones are standing therein, dated one hundred and fifty 



INCIDENTS AND LABORS. 



285 



years since. The Church was erected on this spot by 
some of the very first preachers ; but by which of them 
no record can be found. The present Church edifice su- 
perseded a log Church more than fifty years ago. The 
very trees, the groves, and the scenery of the river Mul- 
lica, all have an ancient appearance. To the antiquary it 
is quite a pleasure to gaze upon those remains of a past 
age. And here are found yet the children's children of 
some of the early Methodists. Here, some of the fa- 
thers in the ministry have held forth in by-gone days, 
and scores have been converted within the old walls of 
Pleasant Mills' Church. Not quite two miles distant is 
the old village of Batsto, where was an iron furnace long 
before the Revolution. Its large mansion-house is a 
good specimen of the aristocratic style of building, a 
hundred years ago ; and it has, also, many dwellings 
built of huge logs, now falling into decay, which were 
put up long ago, for the accommodation of the workmen 
of the furnace. Cannons were cast here for the army 
of Washington, and a military corps was formed by the 
workmen of the village. Here, also, the venerable As- 
bury, in passing over all parts of the vineyard of the 
Lord, proclaimed the glorious doctrines of the gospel, and 
in the hospitable mansion of Mr. R. found a most cordial 
welcome. This family, even to the present third genera- 
tion, are possessors of the immense estate originally pos- 
18 



286 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

sessed by their ancestor, and to this day they are hearty 
supporters of Methodism. Amidst this village congre- 
gation, rich and poor, educated and illiterate, all meet 
as upon one common platform : the wealthy owners, and 
their poorest workmen, unite sincerely in the worship of 
the great God." 

A society must have been formed at New German- 
town, Hunterdon county, in 1783 or some time previ- 
ously. A Quarterly meeting was held there about this 
year which was productive of good. Mr. Mair, proba- 
bly, introduced Methodism there. The love-feast, which 
Mr. Ware has described, was probably held in that 
neighborhood, or not very far distant. A daughter of 
Nicholas Egbert, who told his experience in that love- 
feast, professed religion about that time, and after walk- 
ing more than fifty years in the way of life, peacefully 
finished her pilgrimage in the month of May, 1837. 

In East Jersey, while most of the ministers of , other 
denominations opposed Methodism, some of the Episco- 
pal ministers were friendly. One, especially, to whom 
allusion has already been made, the Rev. Uzal Ogden 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church, showed himself to 
be the friend of the weak and struggling cause. He re- 
sided at this time at Newton, Sussex county, and culti- 
vated a very extensive field, embracing about forty ap- 



INCIDENTS AND LABOKS. 



287 



pointments in the counties of Sussex, Morris, Essex, and 
Hunterdon, in New Jersey, and Northampton, in Penn- 
sylvania. He was a successful minister of the gospel, 
and an assistant and counselor of the Methodist preach- 
ers. He sympathized with the doctrines of Methodism, 
as they agreed substantially with the creed which he de- 
duced from the Scriptures. " "When I began to preach 
the gospel," he says, "I endeavored to obtain a just 
idea of it, without regard to any man's notions concern- 
ing it ; and, though I do not mean to mention here all 
the conceptions I have of the doctrines of Christ, I shall 
observe, that I think it is incumbent on me, as a teacher 
of religion, among; other things : 

" 1. To declare to men their fall from a state of in- 
nocence ; and that in themselves they have no ability to 
regain that moral excellence which they lost, nor to ob- 
tain the Divine favor and affection. 

" 2. That Christ hath not only made an atonement 
for our sins, but also merited for us eternal life. 

" 3. That through the aids of the Divine Spirit alone, 
and the means of grace, we are enabled to accept of 
salvation as offered in the gospel ; and obtain newness 
of heart, or a qualification for celestial enjoyments. 

"4. That every person to whom the gospel shall be 
preached, who shall die impenitent, will be most justly 



288 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

condemned ; he giving the preference to death -when life 
was offered to him."* 

His first acquaintance with the Methodists, and the 
feelings with which he regarded them, are stated by him- 
self, as follows, in a letter to Bishop Asbury: " A few 
months past, some of the preachers, styled Methodists, 
were recommended to me by the Rev. Mr. Magaw,f of 
Philadelphia. Believing, in this day of irreligion, their 
wish to advance the interests of virtue, I have given 
them such countenance and advice as I deemed expedi- 
ent, and I humbly hope and fervently pray, that they 
and their successors in this country may be instrumental 
in ' turning many souls from darkness to light, and from 
the power of Satan unto God.' 

" Oh ! when shall prosperity attend the kingdom of 
the Prince of Peace ? When shall vice, religious preju- 
dice, bigotry, and enmity be banished from the earth ? 
When shall we be Christians indeed, possess the same 
amiable and divine temper which was in Christ Jesus our 
Lord ? Father of mercies, compassionate a guilty world, 
and make bare among us the arm of thy salvation ! 
Pluck, oh ! pluck sinners, through the means of grace, as 

* Methodist Magazine, vol. v., p. 384. 

f Dr. M'Gaw was a friend to the Methodists, and rendered them 
ministerial assistance. He was on very friendly terms with Asbury. 
At one time he was Hector of St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia. 



INCIDENTS AND LABORS. 



289 



brands from the burning, and deliver them from the 
wrath to come ! 

"I am happy to add that your preachers here do 
honor to the cause they profess to serve ; and by one of 
them, my good friend Mr. Hickson, I send you a ser- 
mon just published, on Regeneration, -which I beg your 
acceptance of." 

This letter, bearing date of April 11th, 1783, reveals 
the fact that Mr. Hickson labored in East Jersey in the 
ecclesiastical year, 1782. Mr. Ogden's letters are our 
authority for the assertion, elsewhere made, that Hickson, 
Ivy, and Mair, were the preachers that supplied the work 
in East Jersey, after Tunnell and Everett left for the 
Philadelphia circuit, in November of that year. In his 
Journal of June 2, 1783, Asbury acknowledges the receipt 
of this letter, and the sermon as follows: — "I had the 
pleasure of receiving a letter (with a sermon) from Mr. 
Ogden, a man of piety, who, I trust, will be of great 
service to the Methodist societies, and the cause of God 
in general." Before he received this letter, however, he 
wrote to Mr. Ogden, to which the latter replied by the 
following epistle, dated Newtown, 10th July, 1783. 

" Dear and worthy Sir : — Last evening I was fa- 
vored with your letter of the 28th of May. 

" I am obliged to you for the expression of friendship 
contained in your epistle, and am happy that my con- 



290 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

duct to your people hath received your approbation. 
My deportment towards them proceeded, I humbly hope, 
from the love of God, which, for near thirty years, I 
trust, though I am not quite forty years old, hath been 
diffused into my heart, 

" Some ill-natured things have been said of me on ac- 
count of the favor I have shown to Methodists; but I 
can truly say that it is a very trivial circumstance, in 
my estimation, thus to endure the judgment of men. 

" I do not mean, in any instance, to omit an opportu- 
nity of advancing the Divine glory and the salvation of 
mankind, whatever may be the consequence of such con- 
duct with regard to myself ; and I do not repent that I 
have shown friendship to your people, but rejoice in it, 
as I cannot but be of opinion that the countenance I 
have given them hath, in some measure, advanced the 
interests of the kingdom of the Prince of Peace. And 
I am happy to mention that the clergy of our Church, 
in this state, are disposed to be friendly to the Method- 
ists ; and, with cheerfulness, if called on, will administer 
to them the Divine ordinances. 

" I cannot but applaud the unremitted diligence of 
yourself and those preachers of your community, who, 
without any worldly expectations, 6 go about doing 
good regardless of danger, toil, and the reproaches of 
men. 



INCIDENTS AND LABORS. 291 

" But well you may thus act, when you consider what 
Christ hath done for you. How ought we, indeed, to 
rejoice, that the merciful Saviour deigns to employ us 
in his service, and that we have an opportunity to evince, 
in some sort, our gratitude to Mm who, in goodness inef- 
fable, ' hath loved us, and washed us' from the pollution 
of iniquity, ' in the fountain of his own blood, and 
made us kings and priests unto God his Father, forever 
and ever !' 

" Let us, my dear sir, more and more, if possible, 
contemplate the stupendous love of God towards us, 
and our own demerits ! Let us consider what it hath 
cost to redeem souls, and that, in a short period, we must 
'render an account to God of our stewardship !' And, 
impressed with these ideas, let us endeavor to be more 
faithful in the discharge of the duties of our ' high and 
holv calling.' 

" May we add zeal to zeal, diligence to diligence, in 
the performance of the offices of our vocation; and 
when our 'labors of love' shall cease, may we hear from 
the lips of our Divine Master the happy plaudit, i Well 
done,' &c. 

" I need not say it would afford me great pleasure to 
enjoy your conversation. It will not, however, be in my 
power to meet you at the Rariton. I expect to be in 
Newark, which is ten miles from New York, the 25th 



292 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

and 28th of August next ; perhaps at Newark I may 
there be favored with your company.' ' 

Mr. Ogden lived to a good old age, and finally left 
the Protestant Episcopal Church, and joined the Pres- 
byterians. The Methodist preachers found a retreat in 
his dwelling, and enjoyed with him the delights of 
Christian and ministerial fellowship. He corresponded 
with several of them, and his letters uniformly breathe 
the spirit of true Christian catholicity, and religious and 
ministerial devotion. He was the author of several 
publications, among w r hich was a treatise on Revealed 
Religion, designed to be an antidote to the infidel writ- 
ings of Paine. Of this work Asbury says ; " The Rev. 
Mr. Ogden was kind enough to present me with his first 
volume, On Revealed Religion : it contains a soft, yet 
general answer to the deistical, atheistical oracle of the 
day, Thomas Paine ; it is a most excellent compilation, 
taken from a great number of ancient and modern 
writers on the side of truth ; and will be new to common 
readers. So far as I have read, I can recommend it to 
those who wish for full information on the subject.'' 
Mr. Ogden was, it is said, a sound preacher, and rather 
eloquent in his palmy days. He was also successful in 
accomplishing the true end of the ministry, that of sav- 
ing souls. 



INCIDENTS AND LABORS. 



293 



We shall hereafter witness further illustrations of his 
fraternal sympathy with Methodism. 

The work appears to have not advanced in East Jer- 
sey, this year, as there was a decrease in that circuit of 
eighty-eight in the membership. 



294 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN 27EW JERSEY. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

METHODISM IN FLANDERS. 

Flanders, a small village, beautifully situated in a 
lovely valley in Morris county, surrounded by majestic 
hills, and a grand and varied natural scenery, is one of the 
very oldest fortresses of Methodism in the eastern part 
of the State. It was about the year 1783 that the 
Methodist itinerants began to sound the trump of the 
gospel there, "which soon echoed among all the sur- 
rounding hills, and over all the adjacent mountain sum- 
mits. 

The first Methodist that is known to have dwelt there 
was a lady. Her name was Mary Bell. She was 
born in the city of New York, October 25, 1753, and 
was awakened under the ministry of Joseph Pillmoor, 
sought and obtained pardoning and renewing grace, and 
united with the Methodist society. 

In the commencement of the war of the Revolution 
she suffered many hardships, and was finally pillaged of 



METHODISM IN FLANDERS. 



295 



her property by the soldiers, and to secure the safety of 
her person, she was obliged to flee from the city, when 
she sought a refuge amid the tranquil, yet inspiring 
scenes of the quiet valley of Flanders. Here she re- 
mained between thirty and forty years, when she re- 
moved to Easton, Pennsylvania, where, on the 19th of 
August, 1836, she finished her pilgrimage and ascended 
to her rest. 

Mrs. Bell was a Christian of high spiritual attain- 
ments, and was active and zealous in her Master's ser- 
vice. Her religious example was a living, practical il- 
lustration of the excellence and power of Christian faith. 
Though her religious life was commenced in New York, 
and was consummated in her exaltation to glory, in Penn- 
sylvania, yet to New Jersey was much of the hallowed 
savor of that life given, and how much it contributed to 
the success of Methodism in the eastern section of our 
State is reserved for the disclosures of eternity. 

One of the most important characters in the early 
Methodism of Flanders was David Moore, the leader 
of its first class. He was born at Morristown, N. J., 
November 25, 1749. At an early age he was bereaved 
of his father, but being placed in a pious family, he was 
early taught the fear of the Lord. When about nine- 
teen years of age he experienced religion and joined the 
Presbyterian Church. He lived in the fellowship of 



296 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

this Church, an acceptable member, about fifteen years. 
He resided in Flanders when the Methodist preachers 
first visited the place. He opened his doors for preach- 
ing, and they continued to preach there once in two 
weeks for several years. A society was formed, with 
which he united, and was appointed the leader. He ful- 
filled the responsible duties of this office about sixteen 
years. 

During his leadership the first meeting-house in Flan- 
ders was erected, and the society increased, so that it 
numbered thirty members. It is not known with cer- 
tainty in what year the meeting-house was built, but it 
was some years before the close of the last century, and 
was certainly not later than 1793,* and, possibly, as 
early as 1785. It was, in all probability, the first Church 
erected in East Jersey. " For many years it remained 
in an unfinished condition, without walls or doors, the 
floor itself being but partially laid, yet it was occupied 
as a place of worship every two weeks. It was finally 
completed under the administration of Rev. Elijah Wool- 
sey, who is said to have been a very popular minister."! 
So strict was Mr. Moore in attending Divine worship 
that for seven years together he was not known to ne- 

* See Christian Adv. and Jour., 1828, p. 108. 
f Reminiscences of Methodism in Flanders, prepared for the writer 
by Be v. Edward W. Adams. 



METHODISM IN FLANDERS. 297 

gleet being at this house of prayer, though it was a dis- 
tance of six miles from his residence. 

In the year 1800, he removed with his family to 
Cayuga county, New York. He there united with the 
Church, and was soon appointed a Steward, in which 
office he served the Church more than twenty years, 
when the infirmities of age compelled him to resign his 
charge. 

He worthily represented the religion he professed. 
" Frequently, when it was mentioned in love-feasts, 
4 Let him first speak who feels most in debt to grace,' 
whom should we see but father Moore, with streaming 
eyes and a heart big with gratitude to God, saying that 
he thought himself the man ; that he had found the Lord 
in his youth, who had supported him through middle age, 
and was still precious to him in the decline of life ? It 
is worthy of remark, that a little more than a year be- 
fore his death, he was frequently heard to say he had 
for many years been privileged with meeting with his 
brethren in class, but he was rationally taught that he 
could not long continue here ; that his prayer to God 
was that he might live to see one more reformation, and 
so true is that text, 6 The desire of the righteous shall 
be granted him/ that in the last year of his life he saw 
a glorious work of God in his vicinity, and more than 



298 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

thirty souls professed to be brought from the kingdom 
of darkness to that of God's dear Son ; and, although 
in the seventy-eighth year of his age, he not only saw, 
but was engaged in it, for scarcely a meeting was held 
in the society but father Moore made one of the number, 
praying and laboring for God and souls. With an un- 
deviating constancy and uniformity of life, he persisted, 
in spite of age and infirmity, to shine with unabating 
lustre, until his sun set in death. The Sabbath before 
his death, in love-feast, he rose and said, that for more 
than fifty-eight years the Lord had been with him. On 
Thursday morning following, about one o'clock, he was 
violently attacked with excruciating pains, which greatly 
alarmed his family. A plrysician was immediately called, 
but to no effect.. He must take his departure. And 
was he ready ? Hear his own words : ' I thought I 
should not live till morning, and oh, how should I feel 
if I had no hope? Bless the Lord!' Soon after his 
speech began to fail. He said, ' I have nothing here,' 
and continued to repeat it several times, when one pre- 
sent asked him if he would wish to say, 

* I've nothing here deserves my joys, 
There's nothing like my God,' 



to which he assented. On Saturday evening, Dec. 15th, 



METHODISM IN FLANDERS. 299 

1827, about half past eight o'clock, he ceased to live as 
an inhabitant of earth. 

The reader will be interested in the following reminis- 
cences of early Methodism in Flanders, from the pen of 
Rev. E. W. Adams : 

"In those days to kneel during prayer, and stand 
during the singing were sufficiently contrary to general 
usage to bring down upon those guilty of such supposed 
irregularities, severe persecution from the opponents of 
Methodism. 

" Miss Baxter, afterwards the wife of Judge Monroe, 
and mother-in-law to Rev. M. Force, was one of the 
earliest, and most devoted members of our Church in 
this vicinity. Subsequently to her marriage she was 
much opposed by her husband on account of her Meth- 
odistic principles. This was carried to such an extent 
that for peace sake she agreed to unite with the Presby- 
terian Church. But she found, after all, that to change 
her Church relation was not an easy matter. She had 
no rest day or night. In the mean time the pastor, the 
Rev. Mr. Fordham, being notified of her intention, 
called to see her. She frankly told him ' that, after all, 
she did not know what to do, she could not believe their 
doctrines.' He replied, 'If you cannot conscientiously 
subscribe to them, I do not wish you to do so.' Still, 

* Obituary notice in Christian Adv. and Jour., March 7, 1828, 



300 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

by her husband and others, she was urged to relinquish 
Methodism. About this time she was taken seriously 
ill. It was supposed she must die. But one day, as 
her husband came to her bedside, addressing him, she 
said, 4 Monroe, I am impressed with the thought, that if 
you will cheerfully allow me to continue a Methodist, 
the Lord will restore me to health. I believe he will do 
it/ Recognizing the probable cause of her sickness, he 
answered, \ Woman, I have nothing more to say. Do as 
you please.' In a few hours her fever abated, she was 
restored to health, and lived and died a worthy member 
of the Church of her choice. 

" There was no place in the neighborhood where a 
Methodist preacher could find entertainment ; conse- 
quently they had to ride a distance of seven miles after 
preaching, in order to find a stopping place. At this 
period the Rev. Mr. Bostwick* was one of the circuit 
preachers. While holding meeting on one occasion, his 
horse being hitched a short distance from the Church, 
and near the residence of Mr. Monroe, the latter con- 
cluded that he would take pity on the horse and give him 
something to eat, not intending, however, to invite the 
preacher. He put the animal in the stable and fed him, 

* Mr. Bostwick travelled Flanders circuit in 1794. It is probable, 
therefore, that the fact mentioned by Mr. Adams occurred in that 
year. 



METHODISM IN FLANDERS. 



301 



ling word to the minister where he might find his 
horse. Upon further meditation, he concluded that for 
once he would ask the preacher himself to come and 
take something to. eat; which invitation was gladly ac- 
cepted. When the other preacher* came round, Mr. M. 
thought he would not show partiality, so he invited him 
in like manner. But the early Methodist itinerants un- 
derstood human nature, and knew how to improve a 
providential opening. Accordingly, when Mr. Bostwick 
came round again, he at once came to Mr. Monroe's, 
who subsequently became a valuable member of the M. 
E. Church, and for fifty years furnished a comfortable 
home for Methodist traveling preachers. 

"At this same time there was living in the place a 
man of considerable means, who was a member of the 
Methodist Church, but refused to take in the preachers, 
fearing it would be too heavy a burden. Some time 
after this he sold out, and moved to Sussex, and there 
purchased considerable property. But it seemed as 
though the hand of God was upon him. His family 
was much afflicted, and finally he disposed of his pos- 
sessions there at a sacrifice, came back to Flanders, paid 
an advanced price for his former property, and ulti- 
mately died in limited circumstances. 

* According to the minutes, Samuel Coate was the colleague of 

Mr. Bostwick, 
. 19 



802 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



" Col. — — was a man of note, and of large means 
in this neighborhood. Hearing that Mr. Monroe had in- 
vited the Methodist preachers to his house, he came to 
advise him on the subject. Among other things, he said, 
4 If you tolerate these Methodist preachers on your 
premises, they will ride you to death.' This man ran 
through all his property, and died in abject poverty. 
On the other hand, Judge Monroe declared that from the 
time he took in the Methodist preachers, God seemed to 
prosper him in every respect. After a long life of lib- 
erality and usefulness, he died in affluent circumstances, 
and even now his name is as ' ointment poured forth.' " 

The old Church in Flanders, in which so many of the 
early Methodists of East Jersey worshiped, and so many 
of the early heroes of Methodism proclaimed the gospel, 
and which was honored as the spiritual birth-place of 
many now in glory, stood until 1857, when, through the 
skilful management and indefatigable efforts of the Rev. 
J. B. Heward and Rev. M. Force it was substituted by a 
new and beautiful house of worship, with a spire and 
bell, which is an ornament to the village, and a credit to 
Flanders Methodists. 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 



303 



CHAPTER XV. 

SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 

The name of Samuel Howe is first on the list of 
those who were appointed to labor in East Jersey in the 
year 1783. He was admitted on trial at the Confer- 
ence of 1779, and appointed to Amelia, Virginia. His 
appointment in 1780 is not designated in the minutes, 
but on the 12th of November of that year, Asbury 
writes : " I am kept in peace of soul : expecting my 
ministering brethren, that we may consult about the work 
of God. Samuel Roe is going to Sussex — one that has 
happily escaped the separating spirit and party in Vir- 
ginia, and the snares laid for his feet." In 1781 he was 
sent to Pennsylvania ; 1782, Dorchester, Md. ; 1783, 
East Jersey; 1781, West Jersey. In 1785 he located. 

Speaking of the location of ministers, the Rev. 
Thomas Ware says, " The first on this list, after the or- 
ganization of the Church in 1784 was Samuel Row.* 

* The orthography of the name is not uniform. In the minutes it 
is spelled Roice; by Asbury, Roe; and by Ware. Lee, and Bangs, Row. 



304 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

He had traveled five years. Three desisted from 
traveling in 1785 ; but Row was the most conspicuous 
of the number. He was, while with us, a man of amia- 
ble and dignified manners, both as a Christian and a 
minister. He had the most tenacious and retentive 
memory of any man I ever knew ; and the use he made 
of this noble faculty evinced that the bent of his youth- 
ful mind had been toward piety. He thought, as he 
used sometimes to say, if the Bible were lost, he could 
replace by his memory the four Evangelists, the Acts of 
the Apostles, the Epistle to the Romans, and the greater 
part of the Epistle to the Hebrews. He was a great ad- 
mirer of Young's Night Thoughts, and never did I hear 
any person repeat them with such effect. He was much 
admired by many as a preacher ; but some believed he 
dealt too much in flowers and in other men's thoughts." 

James Thomas stands in the minutes as continued on 
trial, in 1783, and was appointed to East Jersey ; his 
appointment for 1784 is not ascertained ; in 1785 he 
was appointed to Philadelphia, which was his last ap- 
pointment. Before the next Conference he had finished 
his course. He was an amiable and sprightly young 
man, and esteemed as a good preacher. The obituary 
notice of him in the minutes is as follows: "James 
Thomas, — a pious young man, of good gifts, useful and 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 



305 



acceptable, blameless in bis life, and mucb resigned in 
bis death." 

Francis Spry was received on trial at tbe Conference 
of 1783, and appointed to East Jersey; bis appoint- 
ments for 1784-5-6 are not given in tbe minutes ; in 
1787 be was appointed to Caroline, Md. ; in 1788 be 
was appointed to Baltimore witb Ezekiel Cooper. Dur- 
ing tbis Conference year he finished bis labors. It is 
said of bim, in tbe obituary notice of bim in the minutes, 
that he was " skillful and lively in his preaching, sound 
in judgment, holy in bis life, placid in his mind; of un- 
shaken confidence and patience in bis death." 

Tbe name of William Bingold appears on tbe min- 
utes of 1783 for the first time. In 1784 he was ap- 
pointed to Somerset, Md. ; in 1785, to Frederick, Md. ; 
in 1786 he located. We regret that we have no further 
knowledge concerning him. 

Woolman Hickson was received on trial at the Con- 
ference of 1782 and appointed to Somerset, Md., but 
was afterward changed, there is reason to believe, to 
East Jersey ; in 1783 he was appointed to West Jersey; 
in 1784, to Orange, Virginia ; in 1785, Georgetown ; in 
1786, Baltimore. On the 24th of December of this 
year he was ordained elder by Bishop Asbury. His ap- 
pointment for 1787 is not given in the minutes, but we 
learn from Rev. J. B. Wakeley's "Lost Chapters" that 



306 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



he labored in the city of New York that year. Mr. 
Wakeley says that Baltimore was the last station to 
which he was regularly appointed, and in consequence 
of failing health he was left without an appointment in 
1787, but one of the preachers appointed to New York 
failing to fill his appointment, Mr. Hickson labored there 
in his place. 

"While in New Jersey, Mr. Hickson enjoyed the ac- 
quaintance and friendship of the Rev. Uzal Ogden, and 
corresponded with him. He appears to have stood high 
in Mr. Ogden's confidence and regards. In a letter 
bearing date of 25th April, 1783, addressed to Mr. 
Hickson, Mr. Ogden says : " Your kind letter I have 
received by Mr. Mair, and it is with pleasure I now de- 
vote a moment in this way, to converse with you. 

" Believe me, Mr. Hickson, I have a most affectionate 
regard for you. Your many good and engaging quali- 
ties attach you to me very sensibly; and, 'though absent 
in body, I shall often be present with you in spirit;' and, 
I hope, not unmindful of you in my addresses to our 
heavenly Father. And, 0 ! Sir, let me be so happy as 
to be favored and that continually, with an interest in 
your petitions at the throne of Divine grace ! 

"I cannot but admire your zeal in forsaking all 
earthly considerations, all worldly connections and 
prospects, for Jesus ! and that too in the flower of youth ! 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 



30T 



The sacrifice, on your part, is great ; but remember the 
oblation of our blessed Saviour was infinitely superior to 
this. And as he hath 'bought us with a price,' — a price 
above all earthly computation, let us consider that we 
are, indeed, his in every respect, and rejoice to render 
him his own. And is it not an honor, an unspeakable 
favor, that he will graciously compensate our imperfect 
services with a reward that is ineffable, divine, eternal ? 
Though conscious, ; when we have done all which is in 
our power to do for God, we are but unprofitable serv- 
ants,' yet are we permitted to have 6 respect to the re- 
compense of reward.' Let this support us under every 
pressure of affliction ; knowing that tribulation, also, will 
' work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory !' Let the thoughts of a celestial crown animate 
us, likewise, to act with redoubled vigor in the service 
of our Divine Master. And, oh ! let us consider that 
his eye is ever upon us, and that he will demand — with 
severity demand — an improvement of each talent com- 
mitted to our care. Let us be mindful of the day 
wherein we must < render an account of our stewardship;' 
consider the happiness of the plaudit, ' Well done, thou 
good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy 
Lord!' And contemplate the unhappiness of the sen- 
tence, fi 0 ! thou wicked and slothful servant/ &c. 
* # * * * * 



308 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

" But let me reply to some particulars in your letter, 
I rejoice in the prosperity of religion at the southward ; 
and to be informed that my sermon at Black river 
against bigotry hath been useful. 

" I suppose some, perhaps many, unfriendly things are 
spoken of me on account of the countenance I show 
your people ; but I can truly say, ' it is a small matter 
with me, to be thus judged of man's judgment.' I trust, 
in this instance, I h ave a conscienc e void of offence to- 
wards God, and all rational, pious men. 

" I have formed some religious societies, and believe 
they will be singularly useful, and prosper in the Lord ; 
they are, however, evil spoken of by some, by reason it 
is by them conceived they are Methodistical. How 
dreadful to the ears of some persons, is the word Meth- 
odist" 

This epistle shows that the Methodists had to contend 
against much opposition in laboring for the salvation of 
the people in New Jersey. 

We will give one other letter addressed by Mr. Ogden 
to Mr. Hickson, which is of historical importance in our 
work. It bears date of September 4th, 1783, and also 
the following inscription : 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 



309 



"TO MR. WOOLMAN HICKSOX, A METHODIST PREACHER, 
NOW IN THE COUNTY OE CAPE MAY, IN JERSEY," 

"Dear and worthy sir: — Your kind letter of the 
21st of June last, I had the pleasure of receiving a few 
days ago. I was happy to be informed that Mr. Hick- 
son, who is still high in my esteem, was in the enjoy- 
ment of health, and that his friends and relatives were 
also well. May every blessing attend him and them, in 
such manner as shall seem meet to Divine wisdom. 

" I cannot say I have had great trials, in the manner 
you fear, since I was at the Quarterly meeting at Ger- 
mantown ; but am happy to mention that I hear this 
meeting hath been blest to many persons ; and I rejoice 
to be told that your Annual Conference w r as so agree- 
able. 

" With us, religion, in several places, flourishes. At 
Mr. Howell's, a few months past, I admitted about fifty 
persons to the Lord's table on one day, who before had 
not approached this blessed ordinance. May num- 
bers daily, in every place, be added to the Church of 
Christ. 

" I am happy you have found some of our clergy to 
the southward, who are disposed to countenance your 
preachers in their attempts to reclaim sinners from the 
error of their ways. And why should not the ministers 



310 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

of the gospel of every denomination, rejoice to have it 
in their power to do good ; to demolish the empire of sin 
and Satan, and to give prosperity to the kingdom of the 
Prince of Peace ? I do not, in any sort, repent of the 
favor I have shown the Methodists ; but regard it as a 
happiness, that through them, I have had it in my power 
to aid the cause of religion. 

" Tou inform me that many of the people of Mary- 
land request I would visit them ; that you think my la- 
bors among them would be blest ; and that they would 
make most ample provision for my support, if I could 
settle with them. As to my moving from Sussex, money 
would not induce me to do this. 1 am here, I think, 
very useful; and as long as I can obtain a maintenance 
for my family, among these indigent, but affectionate 
people, it will not, I conceive, be my duty to leave 
them : and, as to my visiting the peninsula, this would 
be very agreeable to me, but I do not think it will be in 
my power to effect it, especially this fall, as my labors 
here daily increase ; and as my appointments to preach 
the gospel, in various parts of this State, now extend to 
about two months to come. However, if possible, I 
shall endeavor to comply with this request next spring ; 
and as Mr. Roe gives us some hopes that you will 
soon ride in this circuit, we shall then confer on the 
subject. 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 



311 



" I applaud the continuance of your zeal to promote 
the interests of Christianity, and ardently pray that you 
may ever enjoy the Divine presence and protection. 
" Believe me to be, 

" Dear and worthy sir, 
" Your sincere friend 

" And very humble servant, 

"TJzal Ogdex." 

Mr. Hickson, it is said, introduced Methodism into 
the city of Brooklyn, L. I. ' i Captain Webb had 
preached there many years before, but he formed no 
class. Mr. Hickson's first sermon in Brooklyn was de- 
livered in the open air, from a table, in what is called 
Sands street, directly in front of where the Methodist 
Episcopal Church now stands. At the close of his ser- 
mon Mr. Hickson said that if any person present would 
open his house for preaching, he would visit them again. 
A gentleman, by the name of Peter Cannon, accepted 
the offer, and promised to prepare a place for the recep- 
tion of the congregation. This place was no other than 
a cooper's shop. In a short time Mr. Hickson formed a 
class of several members. This was the first class formed 
in Brooklyn."* 

Mr. Hickson was ardently devoted to the cause and 

* Wakeley's u Lost Chapters." 



312 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

work of God. Though sinking under the wasting power 
of consumption, he contemplated going to Nova Scotia 
to labor for the salvation of souls, and Bishop Asbury 
found it necessary to prevent him. He possessed fine 
capabilities for usefulness, but lie soon finished his work 
and gained his reward. " His last labors," says Lee,* 
"were mostly in the country, a small distance from New 
York, and on the east side of the North river. He then 
returned to the city of New York, and died ; and was 
buried in the city." The society there provided him a 
nurse in his last sickness, and gave, also, to defray the 
expense of his funeral. Poverty, exposure, and hard 
toil were the portion of the Methodist itinerant in those 
days. Hickson gained not earthly treasures in his la- 
borious life as a minister, but his crown is as bright and 
his rest is as sweet in heaven as if he had died possessed 
of wealth. The brief memorial of him in the minutes 
is as follows : — 

"Woolman Hickson: — -of promising genius, and con- 
siderable preaching abilities ; upright in life, but soon 
snatched away from the work by a consumption, and in 
the midst of his usefulness : — seven years in the work." 
He is thus described by Rev. Thomas Ware : — ■ 
"Woolman Hickson, distinguished by his thirst for 
knowledge, both human and divine, traveled our circuit 

* History of the Methodists. 



SKETCHES OF PREACHERS. 



313 



soon after I became a Methodist ; and from his excel- 
lent example I profited much. Few men among us ever 
observed with greater exactness ' the rules of a preacher,' 
especially these: — 6 Be diligent, Never be unemployed. 
Never be triflingly employed. Be serious. Let your 
motto be, Holiness unto the Lord. Avoid all lightness, 
jesting, and foolish talking.' Having a strong and dis- 
criminating mind, by his diligence and application ac- 
cording to these rules, he could not but make proficiency 
both in gifts and grace. But his physical powers were 
feeble ; and nothing but a miracle, with the exertion he 
made, could save him from an early grave. Accordingly 
the term of his labors was short. But to such a man as 
Hickson it must be 'gain' to 4 die.' " 

The name of John Magary first appears in the min- 
utes in 1782, and his appointment that year was to Som- 
erset, Md. ; in 1783 he was appointed to West Jersey ; 
1784 to Frederick, Md. His name now disappeared 
from the minutes. He was an Englishman and returned 
to Europe. 

In September, 1784, Mr. Wesley says, "I had a long 
conversation with John Magary, one of our American 
preachers. He gave a pleasing account of the work of 
God there continually increasing, and vehemently im- 
portuned me to pay one more visit to America before I 



314 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

die." In 1787 Dr. Coke informed Mr. Garrettson, in a 
letter, that he had been sent by Mr. Wesley to New 
Foundland; but in 1788 Mr. Wesley mentions a Mr. 
Magary as principal of the Kingswood school, which may 
have been the same person. 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1784-5. 



315 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1784-5. 

The Conference was held this year at Ellis's Preach- 
ing-house, in Virginia, on the 30th and 31st days of 
April, and adjourned to Baltimore the latter part of 
May. "It was," says Lee, " considered as but one 
Conference, although they met first in Virginia and then 
adjourned to Baltimore, where the business was finished." 
The "business was conducted with uncommon love and 
unity," says Asbury of the Conference in Virginia. 
East Jersey reported 450 members, and West Jersey 513. 
The appointments for New Jersey were as follows : East 
Jersey, Samuel Dudley, William Phoebus. West Jersey, 
Samuel Howe, William Partridge, John Fidler. Tren- 
ton, John Haggerty, Matthew Greentree. 

Asbury traversed the greater portion of the State this 
year, looking after the interests of the work. He 
preached at Burlington and Trenton, and also visited 
Newton, Sussex county, and preached in the Court- 



316 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEAV JERSEY. 

house. He was kindly entertained by Mr. Ogden. 
While in this region he preached at a place called New 
Market Plains, to about a hundred people, and spoke 
freely in vindication of Methodism. He regarded this 
as a singular circumstance, as he did not know till after- 
ward that there were those present who did not attend 
at other times. He proceeded to New York by way of 
Newark, and afterward went to West Jersey, visiting 
and preaching at several places, including Penny Hill, 
New Mills, and Haddonfield. At this last place he 
"found a dearth. A poor sot came in and muttered 
awhile ; after meeting he acknowledged he was a sinner, 
and seemed sorry for his conduct, drunk as he was/' 

About the year 1625, the time of the great persecu- 
tion of the Puritans, a number of persons fled from 
England to seek a refuge and a home in the new world. 
The way in which they effected their escape was by rais- 
ing a leaky vessel which was sunk in a dock, stopping 
the leak, fitting her out indifferently, and setting sail in 
the night. Directing their course toward the western 
continent, they found themselves the following morning 
but a short distance from the land. Their enemies were 
unable to discover them, however, in consequence of a 
thick fog which had risen between them and the shore, 
and which remained until they had sailed beyond the 
reach of their vision. They were favored with a safe 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1784-5. 817 

voyage until they reached their desired haven which 
seems to have been New York bay. " The ship grounded 
on the shoals of Amboy." After discharging her 
noble cargo, without any loss of life she sunk at once 
into the deep. It is said they purchased lands from the 
Indians, the title for which was afterward ratified by 
Great Britain. It is believed that Elizabethtown, N. J., 
stands upon ground included in this purchase. 

Methodism was introduced into Elizabethtown during 
the present ecclesiastical year. The Rev. Uzal Ogden 
was at that time pastor of the Episcopal Church there. 
When the Methodist preachers visited the town he gave 
them a kind reception, and "gladly united with them in 
preaching a crucified and risen Saviour to perishing sin- 
ners. A gracious work of God directly ensued." 

One of the laborers in this new movement was Elias 
Crane, a descendant of Stephen Crane, one of the com- 
pany above mentioned, who fled from persecution in 
England, and landed in New Jersey. Elias was awak- 
ened under the ministry of Mr. Ogden, sought and ob- 
tained religion, and united with Mr. Ogden's Church. 
This was a short time previously to the introduction of 
Methodism there. Now that the Methodist preachers 
proclaimed a present and impartial salvation to the peo- 
ple of Elizabeth, he "went out into the streets and lanes 

of the city, to hunt up the poor, the maimed, the halt, 
20 



318 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



and blind, and invited them to the gospel feast ; and thus 
in early life contracted that useful habit of laboring with 
mourners in Zion, in which pious and highly honorable 
work he was pre-eminently useful." In 1788 he married 
Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Elihu Lassell of Elizabeth. In 
1791 he removed to Uniontown, Pa., and with his compan- 
ion united with the Church in that place. He was soon after 
appointed Class-leader, and promoted to the office of local 
preacher in which sphere of labor he was remarkably zeal- 
ous and useful. Asbury, Coke, and Whatcoat, shared the 
kind hospitalities of his home. In 1813 he removed to Lees- 
burg, where he opened his doors for itinerant preaching, 
and through his efforts, in connection with those of 
others, a society of about a hundred members was raised 
up, and a commodious house of worship erected. He 
died June 4th, 1830. 

John Haggerty was the first preacher, so far as we 
are informed, that bore the ensign of Methodism into 
Elizabeth. He was sent by Bishop Asbury to form the 
Newark circuit, and early in the year 1785 he visited 
Elizabeth. He was directed to the house of Thomas 
Morrell's father, where he was kindly entertained, and 
proclaimed his message. Thomas Morrell, who was then 
thirty-eight years of age, was present and heard the ser- 
mon. It was from the text, " God so loved the world," 
&c. He was awakened under the sermon, and after a 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1784-5. 319 

few months was converted. The foundation of Method- 
ism in Elizabeth was laid at that time, and it continues 
still to prosper there, notwithstanding its formidable ob- 
stacles. 

Mr. Haggerty was the first Methodist preacher Mr. 
Morrell ever heard. At his earnest solicitation, about 
three months after his conversion, the latter abandoned a 
lucrative business, "and commenced preaching in differ- 
ent places, his appointments being made by Mr. Hag- 
gerty, as he passed round the circuit." One of his first 
efforts as a preacher was made " at the house of his 
uncle, at Chatham, Morris county, New Jersey. Having 
been an officer in the army of the Revolution, and for 
several years subsequently a merchant in Elizabeth, he 
was widely known, and a very large assembly convened 
to hear the 'major' preach, especially as he had joined 
the sect everywhere spoken against. This, I think, was 
his third or fourth effort, and was, by himself, deemed 
an utter failure. He then concluded that he was not 
called of God to preach, and would not make the at- 
tempt again. Early the ensuing morning, while at 
breakfast at his uncle's, there was a knock at the door. 
A lady entered desiring to see the preacher of the pre- 
vious evening. In a few moments another came, and 
then an old man upon the same errand, all of whom had 
been awakened under the sermon deemed by him a fail- 



320 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

ure. They had come to learn the way of salvation more 
perfectly. The doctrine to them was new, having been 
brought up under Calvinistic influences. He, of course, 
recalled his purpose to preach no more, and was encour- 
aged to go forward. 

" About this time such was the excitement all through 
that part of the State, occasioned by Methodist preach- 
ing, that some of the ministers of the Presbyterian 
Church became alarmed. One of them, a young man, 
advising with an elder brother in the ministry, asked the 
question, £ What shall be done to counteract the influence 
they are exerting?' ' Why,' said the elder brother, 6 we 
must out preach and out pray them.' 6 That,' replied 
the young preacher, 6 is impossible, for there is Mr. Hag- 
gerty, he can split a hair.' "* 

Chatham is about the oldest society in Morris county 
except Flanders, but whether there were any Methodists 
there at the time Mr. Morrell preached the sermon above 
mentioned we are unable to say. But very soon after- 
ward there was a society of Methodists there, and some 
time previous to 1790, probably about 1786 or 1787 
they moved toward building a Chapel. But their 
number being small and their means limited, they were 
led to accept a proposal made by some persons not mem- 
bers of the society, but who appeared friendly, which 

* Letter of Rev. F. A. Morrell to the writer. 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1784-5, 321 

was that they would assist them in building the Chapel, 
providing it should be free to all denominations. To 
this the Methodists consented, and one person gave tim- 
ber, another boards, &c, and the house was accordingly 
erected. The Methodists held their public services in it 
for a considerable time, but in the course of years the 
free enterprise resulted in dissatisfaction and bickering, 
and at length the house was pulled down. In 1832 the 
present Methodist Church in Chatham was erected. 
Mr. Brainerd Dickinson was, we are informed, the 
leader of the first class, and the chief man in the society 
for a number of years. He was a Revolutionary soldier, 
and was en^aofed in the battle of Monmouth. He died 
about 1819. From this Church the venerable Manning 
Force, of the Xewark Conference, went forth to the itin- 
erancy, and Mr. Isaac Searles, father-in-law of Rev. Dr. 
"Whedon, was for year.-, during the first part of the pre- 
sent century, an important and useful man in the so- 
ciety. He died in December, 1856, in the city of 
Washington, aged about 80 years. The venerable Mat- 
thias Swaim, father of Rev. John S. Swairn, now about 
ninety years of age, has been a member there since 1803. 
He is still one of the chief pillars of the Church. He 
became a resident of Chatham in 1791, and to him we 
are indebted for most of the above facts. 

An event of great importance to Methodism in 



322 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



America occurred this year. It was the organization of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church as a distinct and inde- 
pendent ecclesiastical body. 

" In 1782, by virtue of the Preliminary Articles of 
peace, hostilities ceased between the United States and 
Great Britain — and in 1783 the Definitive Treaty of 
Peace was signed, ratified, and carried into full effect. 
The Independence of the United States being acknow- 
ledged by Great Britain, and our civil and religious rites, 
liberties, and privileges, being established and secured, 
and peace being restored again to the land ; the state of 
things was amazingly changed. 

"In 1784, Mr. Wesley, who had been applied to for 
advice and counsel, considered the situation of the Meth- 
odist societies in the United States ; and on mature de- 
liberation, advised and recommended his American breth- 
ren, who were totally disentangled, both from the Brit- 
ish civil government, and from the English Church hier- 
archy, that it was best for them 'to stand fast in that 
liberty, wherewith God had so strangely made them 
free.' And he and us being at full liberty, in this mat- 
ter, to follow the Scriptures, and the usages of the 
primitive Church ; he being clear in his own mind, took 
a step, which he had long weighed in his thoughts ; and, 
not only advised and recommended his American breth- 
ren, but took a decided part in aiding them, to become a 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1784-5. 323 

distinct and independent Church. Accordingly he set 
apart and appointed Thomas Coke, Doctor of Civil law 3 
late of Jesus College, Oxford, who was a regular Presby- 
ter of the English Church, and vested him with full Epis- 
copal authority, to come over to America on this business ; 
and Richard Whatcoat and Thomas Vasey, presbyters, 
to come with him; and to confer ordinations, and to as- 
sist the Methodist societies in becoming, and organizing 
themselves an independent Church. At the same time 
he recommended the Episcopal form and mode of Church 
government ; and that Dr. Thomas Coke, and Mr. 
Francis Asbury, be received and acknowledged, as joint 
superintendents or bishops. The same year, Mr. "Wes- 
ley executed the famous deed of settlement, or declara- 
tion, of one hundred preachers, of whom Dr. Coke was 
one, and first on the list after the two Wesleys, as mem- 
bers of the British Conference in regular succession, to 
be known in law, and to hold the Chapels, preaching- 
houses, and other property in behalf of the connection 
in Europe. Next to his brother Charles, no man stood 
higher in the esteem and confidence of Mr. "Wesley than 
Dr. Coke ; and in America, no man stood so high with 
him as Mr. Asbury. 

" September 18th, 1784, Coke, Whatcoat, and Vasey 
sailed from Bristol for America, and landed in New 
York the 3d of November following. Dr. Coke and 



324 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IX NEW JERSEY. 

Whatcoat, leaving Vasey behind, hastened on to the 
south with all expedition. On the 14th of the same 
month they met Mr. Asbury, and about fifteen of the 
American preachers, at a Quarterly meeting, held in 
Barrett's Chapel, Kent county, State of Delaware. 

" It was at that meeting, at Barrett's Chapel, that by 
mutual consent and agreement of the preachers there, 
that the General Conference, was called to meet in Bal- 
timore, on the Christmas following, to take into consid- 
eration the proposals and advice of Mr. Wesley. Intel- 
ligence was sent off to every part of the connection. 
Brother Grarrettson was appointed to go through Mary- 
land, into Virginia, and to give the information to the 
south and west, and to call the preachers together. 

" The Conference met the 27th of December, 1784, 
and continued their deliberation and sitting until some 
time in January, 1785. It was unanimously agreed, 
that circumstances made it expedient for the Methodist 
societies in America to become a separate body from the 
Church of England ; of which, until then, they had been 
considered as members. They also resolved to take the 
title, and to be known in future by the name of The 
Methodist Episcopal Church. They made the Epis- 
copal office elective ; and the bishops or superintendents, 
to be amenable for their conduct to the body of preach- 
ers or to the General Conference. Mr. Asbury, though 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1784-5. 325 

appointed by Mr. "Wesley, would not be ordained un- 
less he was chosen by a vote, or the voice of the Con- 
ference. He was unanimously elected, and Dr. Coke 
was also unanimously received jointly with him, to be 
the superintendents, or bishops, of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church. From that time the Methodist societies in 
the United States became an independent Church, under 
the Episcopal mode and form of government. Design- 
ing, professing, and resolving ' to follow the Scriptures, 
and the primitive Church, according to the advice and 
counsel of Mr. Wesley, and in perfect unison with the 
views, the opinions, and wishes of Mr. Asbury. This step 
met with general approbation, both among the preachers 
and the members. Perhaps we shall seldom find such 
unanimity of sentiment, in a whole community, upon any 
question of such magnitude, proposed to be adopted by 
them."* 

The Eev. Thomas Ware was present at this memorable 
conference, and he speaks of it in the following language : 

" Nearly fifty years have now elapsed since the Christ- 
mas Conference, and I have a thousand times looked 
back to the memorable era with pleasurable emotions. 
I have often said it was the most solemn convocation I 
ever saw. I might have said, for many reasons, it was 
sublime. During the whole time of our being together 

* Rev. Ezekiei Cooper s work on Asbury, pp. 102-3-4-8-9. 



326 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

in the transaction of business of the utmost magnitude, 
there was not, I verily believe, on the Conference floor 
or in private, an unkind word spoken, or an unbrotherly 
emotion felt. Christian love predominated ; and, under 
its influence, we 6 kindly thought and sweetly spoke the 
same.' 

" The annual meetings of the preachers, sent, as they 
hold themselves to be, to declare in the name of the al- 
mighty Jesus terms of peace between the offended Ma- 
jesty of heaven and guilty man, were to them occur- 
rences of interesting import. The privilege of seeing 
each other, after laboring and suffering reproach in dis- 
tant portions of the Lord's vineyard, and of hearing the 
glad tidings which they expected to hear on such occa- 
sions, of what God was doing through their instrumen- 
tality, encouraged their hearts every step they took in 
their long and wearisome journeys, and served as a cor- 
dial to their spirits. But never before had they met on 
so important and solemn an occasion as this. Fifteen 
years had passed away since Boardman and Pillmoor ar- 
rived in America, in the character of itinerants, under 
the direction of Mr. Wesley. This was the fifteenth 
Conference. During all that time, those of us who 
would dedicate our infant offspring to the Lord by bap- 
tism, or would ourselves receive the holy sacrament, 
must go for these sacred rites to such as knew us not, 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1784-5. 327 

and ^ere entirely mistaken respecting our character. 
The charge preferred against us was not hypocrisy, but 
enthusiasm. Our opposers did not blame us for not liv- 
ing up to our profession outwardly, but for professing 
too much — more than is the privilege of man in this life, 
in speaking with Christian confidence of the knowledge 
of a present salvation by the forgiveness of sins, and the 
•witness of the Spirit. There were, indeed, a few who 
harmonized with us in sentiment and in feeling. But, in 
the general estimation, we were the veriest enthusiasts 
the world ever saw. 

66 Humiliating indeed was our condition. Not a man 
in holv orders amono; us : and against us formidable 
combinations were formed, not so much at first among 
the laity as among the clergy. But being denounced 
from the pulpit as illiterate, unsound in our principles, 
and enthusiastic in our spirit and practice — in a word, 
every way incompetent, and only to be despised — the 
multitude, men and women, were emboldened to attack 
us ; and it was often matter of diversion to witness how 
much they appeared to feel their own superiority. 

" All these things, however, we could have borne with- 
out concern, as the work of God was prospering, and 
the societies increasing more rapidly than any other de- 
nomination in the country; but the want of orders had 
a tendency to paralyze our efforts, Many, very many, 



328 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

who had been brought to the knowledge of God through 
our instrumentality, were kept from uniting with us be- 
cause we could not administer to them all" the ordi- 
nances. 

" At the Christmas Conference we met to congratu- 
late each other, and to praise the Lord that he had dis- 
posed the mind of our excellent Wesley to renounce the 
fable of uninterrupted succession, and prepare the way 
for furnishing us with the long desired privileges we were 
thenceforward expecting to enjoy. The announcement 
of the plan devised by him for our organization as a 
Church, filled us with solemn delight. It answered to 
what we did suppose, during our labors and privations, 
we had reason to expect our God would do for us ; for 
in the integrity of our hearts we verily believed his de- 
sign in raising up the preachers called Methodists in 
this country was to reform the continent and spread 
scriptural holiness through these lands ; and we accord- 
ingly looked to be endued, in due time, with all the 
panoply of God. We, therefore, received and followed 
the advice of Mr. Wesley, as stated in our form of Dis- 
cipline. 

"After Mr. "Wesley's letter, declaring his appoint- 
ment of Dr. Coke and Mr. Asbury joint superintendents 
over the Methodists in America, had been read, ana- 
lyzed, and cordially approved by the Conference, the 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1784-5. 329 

question arose, 6 What name or title shall we take?' I 
thought to myself, I shall be satisfied that we be de- 
nominated, The Methodist Church, and so whispered to 
a brother sitting near me. But one proposed, I think it 
was John Dickens, that we should adopt the title of 
Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Dickens was, in 
the estimation of his brethren, a man of sound sense and 
sterling piety ; and there were few men on the Confer- 
ence floor heard with greater deference than he. Most 
of the preachers had been brought up in what was called 
4 The Church of England;' and, all agreeing that the 
plan of general superintendence, which had been adopted, 
was a species of Episcopacy, the motion on Mr. Dick- 
ens' suggestion was carried without, I think, a dissent- 
ing voice. There was not, to my recollection, the least 
agitation on the question. Had the Conference indulged 
a suspicion that the name they adopted would be, in the 
least degree, offensive to the views or feelings of Mr. 
"Wesley, they would have abandoned it at once ; for the 
name of Mr. Wesley was inexpressibly dear to the 
Christmas Conference, and especially to Mr. Asbury and 
Dr. Coke." 

A number of preachers were elected to elders' orders 
at this Conference and received ordination. Methodists 
could now receive the Sacraments at their own altars, and 
at the hands of their own ministers. The advantages 



830 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

resulting from this change in the economy of Methodism 
must have been exceedingly great. It was inconvenient 
to members of the societies to be compelled to go to the 
Episcopal Church to receive the sacraments ; and it was 
not a little repugnant to their feelings to partake of the 
emblems of the Saviour's passion, when administered, 
as was too often the case, by men who were known 
to be deficient, not only in religion, but in morals. The 
fact of their being in orders must have added, likewise, 
to the dignity and influence of the ministry, and to the 
general harmony and efficiency of the Church. 

The preachers elected to the order of elders, of whom 
there were thirteen, were expected to visit the Quarterly 
meetings and administer the ordinances, which arrange- 
ment was finally substituted by the regular Presiding 
Eldership, an office necessary, probably, to the complete 
and successful working of the grand and powerful ma- 
chinery of Methodism. 

Of the preachers appointed to labor in New Jersey 
this year, the name of Samuel Dudley stands first. 
His first appointment in the minutes was to Fluvanna, 
Va., in 1781. In 1782 he was appointed to Sussex cir- 
cuit, Va., with Pedicord; in 1783, Guilford, N. C. ; 
1784, East Jersey; 1785, Dover, Delaware; 1786, Dor- 
chester, Md., with Joseph Everett as a colleague ; 1787, 
Philadelphia. In 1788 he retired into the local ranks 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1784-5. 331 



in consequence of family affairs. Very little is known 
respecting his personal history, except that he was a 
good and successful laborer in the vineyard, and endured, 
during his period of effective service, his due share of 
the toils and sacrifices of a pioneer itinerant life. 

William Phoebus was born in Somerset county, 
Md., August, 1754. He entered the Conference on trial 
in 1783, and was appointed to Frederick circuit, Md. 
In 1784 he was appointed to East Jersey ; 1785, West 
Jersey. The minutes do not designate his appointment 
for 1786. In 1787 he was appointed to Redstone; 1788, 
Rockingham; 1789, Long Island; 1790, New Rochelle; 
1791, Long Island, with Benjamin Abbott. In 1792 he 
located. It cannot but be observed by the reader, how 
frequently the word " located" occurs. The greater 
portion of the preachers in the first period of our history 
retired sooner or later from the itinerant ranks. There 
must have been strong reasons for this, as many of 
those who located manifested an ardent and abiding at- 
tachment to the work. One of those reasons was, the 
work required that the preachers should travel exten- 
sively, and consequently those who had families must 
either abandon it or else be almost perpetually from 
home. Another reason was, the severity of the labor, 
often taxing the strength beyond what it could bear, and 
hence many tfere compelled to retire on account of fail- 



S32 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

ing health, there not being at that time any Supernume- 
raries. Another, and perhaps the chief reason, was in- 
adequate temporal support. The people were poor, they 
were contemned by the world and by many of other 
sects ; they were compelled to build churches in order 
to meet the exigencies of the cause, and consequently 
they were straitened in their pecuniary resources ; and in 
many instances in consequence of their poverty, and the 
various pressing demands made upon them by the 
Church, they were not able to provide liberally for their 
preachers. Still, in numerous instances there can be no 
doubt that they might have given a better support to 
those who ministered to them in holy things, had they 
earnestly and faithfully endeavored to do so, and a more 
liberal course on the part of the Church would probably 
have saved to the ministry many, the value of whose 
services would have been beyond human computation. 
The last difficulty named had its influence in leading 
Phoebus to a location. 

He continued to labor in the local sphere, practicing 
medicine at the same time, until 1806, when he again 
entered the regular work in the New York Conference, 
and was appointed to the city of Albany. In 1808 he 
was removed to Charleston, S. C, and in 1811 he was 
appointed to the city of New York. He continued to 
fill various appointments until 1821, when* he became a 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1784-5. 



333 



Supernumerary. In 1824, lie took a superannuated re- 
lation to the Conference, which he continued to sustain 
until his death, which occurred November 9, 1831, at his 
residence in the city of New York. 

In the early part of his ministry, it is said, he was an 
earnest and searching preacher, proclaiming the truth 
often very fluently and successfully. In his later years 
his preaching was not of a very popular character, but 
this arose more from the dryness of his manner, than 
from a want of solidity and depth of matter. He was 
quite eccentric. He fancied things that bore the stamp 
of antiquity. The sayings and opinions of the old di- 
vines and philosophers had a great influence with him. 
He particularly admired Baxter. He could not pardon 
Dr. Clarke for his opinions concerning the Sonship of 
Christ, and his speculation about the serpent. He some- 
times expressed himself enigmatically. In speaking to 
the Conference on one occasion, he remarked " that the 
lease of his house had expired, and therefore he could 
not tell how soon he might be called to remove, as he 
was not certain that he could procure a renewal of his 
lease for any particular length of time ; hence he could 
not pledge himself for any special service in the min- 
istry." An old minister afterward said to Dr. Bancs, 
"I thought the doctor owned the house in which he 

lives ; but it seems I was under a mistake, as he says 
21 



334 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

that the time of his lease is run out." The doctor re- 
plied, "You do not understand him. He speaks in 
parables. He is now three score years and ten, the com- 
mon age God has allotted to man, and therefore cannot 
calculate on living much longer at most." This he 
afterward explained to be his meaning. 

He was a man of sterling integrity, and of deep de- 
votion to the Church and the work of the ministry. He 
well understood human nature and was skillful in adjust- 
ing Church difficulties. He possessed a large fund of 
varied knowledge, and his discourses were richly evan- 
gelical — the character and redemptive work and offices 
of Jesus being prominently presented in them. He 
maintained a lofty dignity of deportment becoming the 
ambassador of God. 

Having attained the age of seventy-seven years, he- 
came to the closing scene with a mind clear as the cloud- 
less day. He spoke of the merits of his Redeemer, and 
of his prospect through him of an endless and glorious 
life. " A short time before he died he quoted the words 
of St. James, 'Let patience have its perfect work, that 
ye may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing,' and 
commented upon them with much apparent pleasure, 
and with great clearness of expression, exhibiting, at 
the same time, a lively exposition of the meaning of 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1784-5. 335 



those expressive words in his struggles with his last 
enemy."* 

The name of William Partridge first appears on 
the minutes in 1780, and he was appointed to Pittsylva- 
nia, Va. ; 1781, Berkeley, Va. ; 1782, Lancaster, Pa. ; 
1783, Somerset, Md. ; 1784, West Jersey ; 1785, Cam- 
den ; 1786, New Hope, N. C. ; 1787, Yadkin ; 1788, 
Broad River. In 1789 the minutes report him as under 
a partial location, on account of family affairs, but sub- 
ject to the order of the Conference. He was a native 
of Sussex county, Va., and was born in 1754. He was 
converted when about twenty-one years of age. He re- 
entered the itinerancy in 1814, and in 1817 he died in 
Sparta, Ga. One wrote of him as follows : " I have 
lived a near neighbor to brother Partridge for upward of 
twenty years, and can with satisfaction say that he was 
the greatest example of piety that I have ever been ac- 
quainted with." He was a constant student of the 
Bible, but read other authors but little. He ceased 
nearly at once to labor and to live. He preached his 
last sermon from the words, "Walk in wisdom towards 
them that are without." The same evening he was 
♦taken ill. " His colleague asked him whether he was 
ready for the final summons. He said, ' Yes, for me to 

* Bangs' History of M. E. Church, vol. iv., p. 134. 



836 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

die is gain.' His speech left him, and on Saturday 
night after he was taken he breathed his last."* 

John Fidler was admitted on trial at theConference 
of 1784 and appointed to West Jersey. In 1785 he 
was appointed to Bedstone; 1786, Fairfax, Va. Ac- 
cording to Lee he located in 1787. 

John Hagerty was born in Prince George's county, 
Md., February 18, 1747. He had religious impressions 
at an early age, and his heart would melt as he read the 
story of the Saviour's sufferings, but he did not experi- 
ence religion until he was about twenty-four years of 
age. 

He was converted by means of the ministry of John 
King. Mr. King visited the town where he resided. 
He heard him, and liked the sermon tolerably w T ell. 
The next time he heard him he was better pleased, and 
the third time the veil was swept from his mind, so that 
he saw his exceeding sinfulness and his exposure to 
wrath, and the necessity of obtaining the righteousness 
which is of faith. The depths of his heart were stirred, 
and he resolved " on the spot to flee from the wrath to 
coine." After some months of distress and prayer, he 
obtained a sense of pardon. In 1772 Mr. King formed* 
a society in the town, consisting of Mr. Hagerty and 

* Minute?, 1818. 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1784-5. 337 



thirteen others, of which Hagerty afterwards became 
the leader. 

Soon after his conversion he "began to exhort, and 
under his second exhortation a man was deeply convicted 
of sin. This encouraged him to go forward in the work, 
and his hortatory exercises soon assumed the dignity of 
sermons. He labored as a local preacher for several 
years, giving much time to his ministerial labors, and 
sometimes "he would be away from home on his preach- 
ing excursions for many weeks together." His heart 
was so much engaged in the business of saving souls 
that he could feel contented only when he was employed 
in it. 

He entered the itinerancy in 1779, and was sent to 
Berkeley circuit, Va., to which he returned in 1780. 
In 1781 he was appointed to Baltimore circuit ; in 1782 
to Calvert ; 1783, Chester, Pa. ; 1784, he stands on the 
minutes in connection with Trenton circuit, N. J. At the 
Christmas Conference he was ordained an elder and was 
stationed in 1785 in New York. In 1786 and 1787 he 
acted as Presiding Elder. In 1788 he was stationed in 
Annapolis ; 1789, Baltimore ; 1790, Fell's Point ; 1791- 
92, Baltimore. At the end of this year domestic afflic- 
tion required him to locate. But he did not remain idle. 
He preached in and about Baltimore with great accepta- 
bility. He was ready to meet any call for his ministe- 



838 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

rial services, whether at night or day. " Distance, 
weather, or season was no consideration with him when 
duty called. He has been often known to rise from his 
bed at midnight and ride for miles into the country to 
visit a sick or a dying man, and that without fee or re- 
ward."* 

Mr. Hagerty was of medium size, straight, and well 
proportioned, " prominent features — a fine retreating 
forehead, and in profile resembled the best prints we have 
of Mr. Fletcher, "f He was more than an ordinary 
preacher. It is said he was a close reasoner, and his 
ministrations were marked by considerable pathos. He 
had a manly voice, and his enunciation of truth was 
" clear, pointed, and commanding." 

A few days before his death a ministerial friend and 
brother called to see him, and remarked that he ap- 
peared to be drawing nigh to eternity, when he replied, 
"Yes; and all is straight, the way is clear before me." 
On the fourth of September, 1823, he entered into 
rest. 

Matthew Greentree was appointed in 1783, (which 
is the first he appears on the record,) to Caroline, Md. 
In 1784 he was appointed to Trenton ; 1785, East Jer- 
sey ; 1786, Little York, Pa. ; 1787, Annamessex, Md. ; 

* Memoir, by Kev. Joshua Soule. Metb. Mag., 1824, p. 211. 
f Ibid. 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1784-5. 339 

1788, Caroline, Md. ; 1789, Kent, Md. In 1790 he lo- 
cated. Mr. Greentree was, it is said, a native of Talbot 
county, Md., and was probably the first contribution 
which Methodism in that county made to the itiner- 
ancy. 



340 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

RESULTS AND LABORERS. 

Three Conferences were held in the year 1785, which 
was the first time that more than one had been held in 
the same year. There had, indeed, in several instances, 
as we have already shown, been two sessions, but they 
were regarded as but one Conference. The third Con- 
ference this year was held in Baltimore, commencing the 
first day of June. We suppose that New Jersey was 
included in this Conference. The membership was re- 
ported in the aggregate this year, so that we cannot tell 
what was the number in New Jersey. There were 
eighteen thousand members in the entire connection. 

The work in New Jersey was supplied with laborers 
this year as follows : Thomas S. Chew, Elder. West 
Jersey, William Phoebus, Thomas Ware, Robert Sparks. 
East Jersey, Adam Cloud, Matthew Greentree. Tren- 
ton, Robert Cloud, John McClaskey, Jacob Brush. 



RESULTS AXD LABORERS. 



341 



This was the strongest ministerial force, numerically, 
with which New Jersey had till that time been favored. 

This year was rather barren of incidents, or, if it was 
not, few have been transmitted to us. Those few, how- 
ever, indicate the progress of the cause. 

It was this year that John Walker, a name precious 
to many New Jersey Methodists, united with the Church. 
He lived until 1849, and was for years a venerated 
father in our ministry. He joined the society in Mount 
Holly. As the organization of that society was not per- 
manent till after the period embraced in the present vol- 
ume, we have made only passing allusions to it. But as 
it was associated with the earliest days of New Jersey 
Methodism, and as it contributed two of its first mem- 
bers to the itinerancy, (Ware and Walker,) and two 
others sustained no insignificant relation to the cause, 
one being the wife of an itinerant and the other of a most 
prominent layman, it may be proper that we should here 
give some of the facts of its early history. 

The first Methodist preacher that preached in Mount 
Holly, so far as our knowledge extends, was George 
Shadford, one of Mr. Wesley's Missionaries to America. 
This was probably about 1773. It was sometime after 
that a small society was formed there. Miss Rebecca 
Budd, afterward Mrs. James Sterling, joined it in 1779. 
It is probable that this was about the beginning of the 



342 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

society. She was the only young unmarried person then 
in the class, and she was highly gratified when Thomas 
Ware united with them in 1781, as she thought she 
would find in him a profitable Christian associate. Some 
of the other members of the class w T ere Mrs. Mary Mon- 
roe, Mary Lees, afterward the wife of Rev. J. Walker, 
Mary Morrell, afterward Mrs. Dobbins, the wife of Peter 
Shiras, Esq., and a colored woman named Drusilla, 
otherwise called " Old Drusy." 

In those days the only place the Methodists could 
procure for preaching was the Town house, over the 
Market, which was made the scene of gracious displays 
of the Divine mercy. But for some cause the society 
declined. Perhaps it was owing, in some degree, to the 
loss of such noble spirits as Ware and Miss Budd, the 
former leaving to enter the itinerancy. For several 
years there were but two members in Mount Holly, Mrs. 
Mary Monroe and " Old Drusy." They were accustomed 
to go two and a half miles to attend week day preach- 
ing, there being no Methodist preaching in the town. 
In 1794 there appears to have been no society there, as 
about that time a Mrs. M'Gowan, who was converted 
under the ministry of Rev. James Rogers, in Dublin, 
and was a member of the class led by his wife, Mrs. 
Hester Ann Rogers, became a resident of Mount Holly, 
and not finding a Methodist society with which she could 



RESULTS AND LABORERS. 



343 



unite, she joined the Baptist Church, of which she re- 
mained a member several years, until the society was re- 
organized, when she returned to the Church of her birth 
and of her choice. Mrs. M'Gowan had enjoyed the 
ministry of Wesley, Fletcher, and Clarke, and she was 
present when an attempt was made upon the life of Mr. 
Rogers in the Chapel, while he was in the act of preach- 
ing, of which mention is made in Mrs. Rogers' Memoirs. 
The first Church in Mount Holly was erected about 
1810. 

As the war was over and quiet restored, Chapels began 
to spring up in different parts of the State. A Quarterly 
meeting was held in Xovember of this year at Goodluck, 
in what is now Ocean county, and on the Sabbath James 
Sterling and Rebecca Bucld were united in holy matri- 
mony in the Church, in the presence of the congrega- 
tion. There must, therefore, have been a meeting-house 
there at that time, and of course a society, which must 
have been formed at a period somewhat earlier. This 
Church, doubtless, was attended by the Methodists of 
that entire region. 

Bishop Asbury attended a Quarterly meeting on Sat- 
urday and Sunday, Sept. 17 and 18, 1785, at Maurice 
river, in Cumberland county, and on Saturday he says, 
" Our house was not quite covered, and it was falling 
weather ; the people, nevertheless, stayed to hear me 



344 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

preach." From the remark, " Our house was not quite 
covered," it appears that it was a Chapel which they 
had erected but had not finished. That this is not a 
mere conjecture is shown by the fact that Asbury was 
at Maurice river the following year, when he preached 
in the Church. There is scarcely any doubt that it was 
located in the village of Port Elizabeth. There was in 
1785 a good society there. This we infer from the fact 
that in the love-feast on Sunday the people spoke freely 
of the dealings of God with their souls. It was, accord- 
ing to Asbury, "a great time." 

One of the first Methodists in that part of West Jer- 
sey, and probably a member of this same society at the 
time this Quarterly meeting was held, was Eli Budd. 
He became a member of the society about 1775, which 
indicates that it must have been formed about that time. 
He died at Port Elizabeth early in the year 1830. 
During most of this time he was a class leader, and a 
steward of the circuit. When on his death bed he ex- 
claimed, " Fifty-five years ago God converted my soul 
and I united myself to the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
Fifty-three years since I was appointed a class leader, 
and forty-seven years ago God sanctified my soul; since 
which time I have lived in the precious enjoyment of 
his perfect love, and now I go to live with and enjoy him 
forever !" 



RESULTS AND LABORERS. 



345 



In the West Jersey circuit, which included about the 
whole of the State south of Burlington, Methodism had 
to contend with high toned Calvinism and Mysticism. 
The rides of the preachers were very long, and many of 
them very dreary. Yet their labors were, in a degree, 
successful, a number being converted during the year. 
Mr. Ware was favored with seeing several of his rela- 
tives brought to God through the agency of Methodism 
this year. 

Bishop Asbury visited Stow Creek and Salem this year, 
and preached at each place " with some consolation." 

At Salem he baptized two persons by immersion in 
the creek. "This unusual baptismal ceremony," he 
says, " might have made our congregation larger than it 
would otherwise have been." He was also in Mon- 
mouth, and speaks of hearing Mr. Woodhull, the suc- 
cessor of Wm. Tennent, at the Tennent Church, preach 
a funeral sermon on " Lord, thou hast made my days as 
an handbreadth." "In my judgment," he says, "he 
spoke well." He preached with liberty to the people at 
Monmouth, on Josh. xxiv. IT. The society at Mon- 
mouth must have been formed at an early period, proba- 
bly about 1780, as in that year Job Throckmorton of 
Freehold was converted under the ministry of Rev. 
Richard Garrettson, and became a member of the so- 
ciety. He was one of the first members in that region. 



346 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

The Methodists were much persecuted there at that time. 
His house was a home for the preachers, and very likely 
Asbury was entertained in his dwelling during this visit 
to Freehold. Everett, F. Garrettson, Cooper, Ware, 
and others were accustomed to stop at his house. He 
was accustomed to relate incidents illustrative of Ab- 
bott's powerful ministry, one of which was as follows : 

On one occasion meeting was held in the woods, and 
after F. Garrettson had preached, Abbott rose and 
looked around over the congregation very significantly, 
and exclaimed, " Lord, begin the work ! Lord begin the 
work now ! Lord, begin the work just there /" pointing, 
at the same time, towards a man who was standing beside 
a tree, and the man fell as suddenly as if he had been 
shot, and cried aloud for mercy. 

An incident very similar to this, is related by Mr. Amos 
Opdyke, Sen., a venerable New Jersey Methodist, which 
is thus given by his son, the Rev. S. IL Opdyke, A. M. 
" Many years since he became acquainted with an old 
Methodist lady, who in her childhood had been a mem- 
ber of a family which Abbott visited. On one occasion 
the family heard the sainted man, after he had retired 
to his room, earnestly praying for the conversion of one 
soul at his next clay appointment. Next morning whilst 
praying in the family circle, he offered the same peti- 
tion — 'Lord, give me one soul to-day.' He went to his 



RESULTS AND LABORERS. 347 

appointment and in his opening prayer he still called on 
God to give him one soul. He commenced his discourse, 
and after having spoken most solemnly for some time, 
he fixed his eye upon a gentleman standing near the 
door, and pointing in that direction, cried out, 6 Lord, 
let that be the soul/ and the man fell under the power 
of God as if pierced by a rifle ball." 

In East Jersey the borders were enlarged, so as to in- 
clude Staten Island. Robert Cloud went thither in the 
fall, and commenced laboring and a great revival fol- 
lowed. The labor being too great for him, Thomas Morrell 
w T as induced to go to his aid. Mr. Morrell remained there 
until 1788, (twenty months,) when he was ordained Dea- 
con and appointed to Trenton. It was about this period 
that the first Methodist society was organized on the 
Island. Asbury, as we have seen, had previously 
preached there, but little permanent effects seem to have 
followed his labors. Israel Disosway was, it is believed, 
the leader of its first class, and an important man in the 
society. " The first Quarterly meeting was held in his 
barn ; and the timbers of the first Methodist Church 
built on Staten Island, were cut from his trees." This 
Church was built about 1790 or 1791. Some of the 
other members of this society were Ann Doughty, sub- 
sequently Mrs. Disosway, Abraham Cole, Hannah Cole, 



348 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

Peter Woglam, John Slaught, John Marshall, and Peter 
Win ant. 

Bishop Asbury visited Eliza,bethtown this year and 
was the guest of Mr. Ogden. He preached in an un- 
finished church belonging to the Presbyterians. 

Of the preachers in New Jersey this year Thomas S. 
Chew, the elder, stands first. He was a man of superior 
gifts as a preacher, and appears to have been devoted, 
popular, and useful. While traveling in Maryland 
during the war, he was asked by a Mr. Downs, the 
sheriff of the county, if he were "a minister of the 
gospel." He replied in the affirmative, when Mr. Downs 
requested him to take the oath of allegiance, but he de- 
clined on account of conscientious scruples. Mr. Downs 
then told him that he was bound by his oath of office to 
enforce the law upon him and send him to prison. Mr. 
Chew calmly replied that he did not wish him to perjure 
himself, that he was ready to submit to the execution of 
the law. Mr. Downs answered, "You are a strange 
man, and I cannot bear to punish you, I will, therefore, 
make my house your prison." He accordingly con- 
signed him under his own hand and seal to his own house 
as a prisoner, where he kindly entertained him for about 
three months, during which time both himself and his 
lady were awakened under Mr. Chew's exhortations and 
prayers, and the lady was converted. They both be- 



RESULTS AND LABORERS. 349 

came Methodists, and, assisted by others, built the first 
Methodist meeting-house in that county, called " Tuckey- 
hoe Chapel," and it was from that place, or its vicinity, 
that Ezekiel Cooper, Thomas Neall, and others went 
forth to the battles of the itinerancy. 

Mr. Chew appears to have made a strong impression 
in favor of the cause as elder this year in Jersey. Mr. 
"Ware says " The Presiding Elder appointed to attend 
the Quarterly meetings in Jersey was an exceedingly 
popular man, and his presence gave a consequence to 
these meetings which left no doubt on our minds of the 
advantage of having men in holy orders among us ; and 
we praised God for the providence which had brought 
about this new order of things, and established us as a 
branch of his militant Church." 

Mr. Chew continued to serve the Church in the office 
of elder in different parts of the country until his down- 
fall in 1787 or 1788. His fall occurred in Sussex Co., 
Delaware. He professed to be restored to the Divine 
favor, but had to retire from the ministry. He appears 
as desisting from traveling on the minutes of 1788, but 
was considered as expelled on the ground of immorality. 

Thomas "Ware is understood to have ranked among 
the strong men of his day with respect to preaching 
ability and usefulness. The following incident is illus- 
trative of his character and of his devotion to the work 
22 



350 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

of doing good. He was once overtaken in a severe snow 
storm and compelled to stop at an inn, where he was de- 
tained a week by the storm. He spoke to the landlady 
about her soul and she seemed affected. Being a good 
singer, he sang them some spiritual songs with which they 
seemed delighted. One evening as they were seated 
around the cheerful fire, and the snow and hail were 
pelting furiously against the windows, Ware observed 
that his host and hostess seemed pensive. He sung one 
of his favorite pieces, and they appeared much affected. 
He bowed in prayer, and for the first time they kneeled. 
After prayer he retired, leaving them in tears. The 
landlord afterward tried, during Mr. Ware's stay, to re- 
sume his former gayety, but the attempt was vain. 
More than thirty years afterward he visited Mr. Ware 
and said, "Father Ware, I am happy to see you once 
more. Have you forgotten the snow storm which brought 
you and salvation to my house ?" 

Mr. Ware spent the last years of his life in Salem, 
New Jersey. His memory is blessed. 

Robert Sparks was admitted this year on trial. The 
following year he was appointed to Trenton circuit with 
Robert Cann. His appointments embraced an extensive 
territory, and in 1829 he withdrew from the Church. 

Adam Cloud was admitted in 1781 and expelled in 
1788. His conduct, it is said, did not give general sat- 



RESULTS AND LABORERS. 



351 



isfaction to the Methodists and he left them, and the 
Conference disowned him and considered him expelled. 
It has been said that he afterwards joined the Episcopal 
Church, and became settled as a minister in one of the 
West India Islands. 

Robert Cloud's early life was spent in New Castle 
county, Delaware. He must have traveled in 1778, as 
in 1779 the minutes return him as desisting from travel- 
ing. He re-entered the itinerancy in 1785, and was ap- 
pointed to East Jersey, and was as we have seen, an im- 
portant laborer in the revival that occurred on Staten 
Island this year. He was Thomas Morrell's first col- 
league, and the latter made honorable mention of him. 
In 1786 he was on the Newark circuit, N. J. ; 1787, 
Elizabethtown ; 1788, Long Island; 1789-90, New 
York ; 1791, elder over a district which included the 
city of New York. In 1792 his district included, among 
other appointments, the Flanders, Elizabethtown, and 
Staten Island circuits. He located in 1812. He is said 
to have been an excellent preacher, but he at length un- 
fortunately departed from the narrow path. A short 
time previous to the death of Rev. Thomas Morrell, he 
received a letter from Mr. Cloud in which he stated that 
he was restored to the Church, and intended to remain 
within its inclosure till his death. This is the last we 
know concerning him, 



352 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

John M'Claskey was a native of Ireland. He was 
born in 1756, emigrated to this country when about six- 
teen years of age, and settled in Salem county, New 
Jersey. He was a prisoner in New York for a year in 
the time of the Revolutionary war, and when peace was 
proclaimed, he " went begging his way home to New Jer- 
sey, and found his wife had died during his absence. " 
He was, as we have seen, one of the first members of 
the class at Quinton's Bridge. He was brother-in-law 
to John Ffirth, the compiler of the Life of Abbott. He 
entered the itinerancy in 1785, and was appointed to 
Trenton circuit. The first five years of his itinerancy 
were spent in New Jersey. In 1790 he was appointed 
to Wilmington ; 1791, Chester. In 1792 he was elder, 
his district comprising Philadelphia, Chester, Wilming- 
ton, and Bristol. In 1793 he was appointed to Balti- 
more with John Haggerty. He remained in Baltimore 
in 1794 as preacher in charge, having Robert Sparks, 
Christopher Spry, and George Cannon, as colleagues. 
In 1795 he was stationed alone in Baltimore for six 
months. In 1796 he was elder in New Jersey, his dis- 
trict embracing Delaware and Newburg, Herkimer, and 
Albany in the state of New York. He remained on this 
district three years. In 1799, 1800, and 1801 he was 
stationed in New York; 1802, Philadelphia; 1803-4, 
Chestertown, Md. ; 1805, Talbot, Md. In 1806 he was 



RESULTS AND LABORERS. 



353 



appointed to Salem, but through indisposition failed to 
go. In 1807 he was stationed in Wilmington. In 1808 
he was appointed to Kent, Md., where he remained in 
1809. His appointment in 1810 was Talbot, In 1811 
he was appointed Missionary; 1812-13-14, Presiding 
Elder in the Chesapeake district. In this last year he 
finished his labors and departed in peace. 

Prior to his conversion he "was rather a wild young 
man, much addicted to the common vices of the period," 
such as drinking, gambling, &e. Attracted by curiosity 
he went to hear the Methodist preachers when they came 
into his neighborhood, and at length became concerned 
for his salvation. He earnestly sought the Lord, and 
obtained through faith the great salvation, and almost 
immediately began to warn sinners to repent, which he 
continued to do until he was thrust into the itinerant 
field. "When he was Presiding Elder in New Jersey in 
the latter part of the last century, he attended a Quar- 
terly meeting at Clonmell, in the Salem circuit. " There 
lived in the neighborhood," says one who remembers the 
occasion, " a man by the name of Patrick Field, who 
had formerly been acquainted with Mr. M'Claskey; in- 
deed, they were both old countrymen : however, they 
were old cronies in crime, playing cards, gambling, 
drinking, &c. But M'Claskey had become religious — a 
preacher ; and now came to see his old comrade and in- 



854 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

vited him to the meeting. Patrick was a Roman Catho- 
lic, and had felt no serious impressions at the Saturday 
meetings. On Sunday morning when invited to break- 
fast, Mr. M'Claskey spoke to him on the subject of re- 
ligion ; and when he offered to pray for him, Patrick was 
convicted. He thought, and expressed it, 'Why, how 
is it that the preacher felt such a desire for my salva- 
tion, and I am so indifferent on the subject myself?' 
His convictions became more deep and painful until the 
hour of preaching came ; the house could not hold the 
people, and the meeting was held in the adjoining woods. 
This was a day of the Lord's power. Many fell to the 
ground and cried aloud for mercy ; young men climbed 
the trees in order to see into the midst of the congrega- 
tion ; while the greatest excitement prevailed. During 
the service or preaching an awful thunder storm arose ; 
a peal of thunder rolled over the assembly. The very 
earth trembled; those in the trees attempted to slide 
down ; many fell ; others ran in every direction ; that 
terrific day I shall never forget. In the mean time Pat- 
rick Field had obtained a blessing ; and, in the midst of 
the confusion and crowd, was shouting in so boisterous a 
manner that Mr. M'Claskey stopped preaching for some 
time, and told the people that Patrick Field was out- 
preaching him. One young woman cried aloud for 
mercy as she fell to the ground ; and her brother, a 



» 



RESULTS AXD LABORERS. 355 

large, strong man, rushed into the crowd and carried 
her away. Many were converted, and it was a time of 
refreshing to the Lord's people."* 

M'Claskey, it is said, was a splendid looking man, 
large, with fine flowing locks, and his presence in the 
pulpit was very commanding. "An aged minister," 
says Rev. J. B. TVakely, "who is hovering between two 
worlds, gave me an account of a sermon Mr. M'Claskey 
preached in old John street, about the year 1810, before 
the Conference on a fast day. His theme was, 4 Weep- 
ing between the porch and the altar.' He said it was a 
most masterly effort. The baptism of tears took place 
as the preacher showed why ministers should weep, the 
causes for deep feeling, for melting sympathy, for flowing 
tears." 

His brethren have recorded the following tribute to 
his worth : "As a Christian, he was deeply experienced 
in the grace of God. As a minister, he was mighty in 
the Scriptures, orthodox in his sentiments, systematic in 
his preaching, zealous in his labors ; the blessed effects 
of which were witnessed by thousands, many of whom 
are gone before him, while others are left to unite with 
us in deploring the loss of their venerable father in 
Christ. In the latter part of his life he was greatly af- 
flicted, and suffered much; in all of which he manifested 

* Reminiscences of Methodism. 



356 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IX NEW JERSEY. 

great patience and confidence in God. He preached his 
last sermon at the Quarterly meeting at Church Hill, on 
Queen Ann's circuit, from Isaiah lxi. 1, 2, 3. It was 
observed that he was peculiarly energetic, his own soul 
was much blessed and drawn out in the cause of God, 
while a deep solemnity rested upon the audience. He 
was taken with his last illness at his dwelling in Chester- 
town, in the State of Maryland, on the 21st day of Au- 
gust, in which he desired to depart and to be with Christ, 
and was often heard to sing, — 

Surely Thou wilt uot long delay, 

I hear the Spirit cry, 
i Arise, my love, make haste away, 
Go, get thee up and die,' 

On Friday morning, the ninth day of his illness, about 
four o'clock, he closed his eyes in peace, and without a 
a sigh or groan departed this life, Sept. 2, 1814." 

Jacob Brush was a native of Lono; Island. He en- 
tered the itinerancy in 1785, and was appointed to Tren- 
ton circuit. In 1786 he was sent to West Jersey. In 
1787-8-9 he was on circuits in Delaware and Maryland. 
In 1790 he was appointed to New Rochelle, with William 
Phoebus and M. Swaim. It appears that he labored in 
New York a part of this year. He was reappointed to 
New Rochelle in 1791. About the middle of July he 



RESULTS AND LABORERS. 



357 



took charge of a district " which included Long Island, 
other portions of New York, and the State of Connecti- 
cut as far east as the Connecticut river, and as far north 
as the city of Hartford, sharing with Lee (who was 
Presiding Elder, the same year, of Boston district) the 
entire Presiding Eldership of New England." In 1793 
he was elder over a district all of which lay in the State 
of New York except Elizabethtown and Flanders circuits, 
in New Jersey. In 1791 he was Supernumerary in the 
city of New York. He died in New York of the epi- 
demical fever in September, 1795. He was an active, 
laborious minister, and "a great friend to order and 
union." He was afflicted with an inflammatory sore 
throat, which interfered to some extent with his useful- 
ness. His last illness was so severe that little could be 
known concerning the state of his mind, but " just be- 
fore he died, a preacher who was present took him by 
the hand, and asked him if he was happy. Not being 
able to speak, he gave his hand an affectionate squeeze, 
with an expression in his appearance of a calm resigna- 
tion to God. We entertain no doubt but he rests in 
Abraham's bosom. "* 

* Minutes, 1796. 



858 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

PROSPECTS, RESULTS, AND LABORERS. 

In 1786, a little over a year after the organization of 
the Church, New Jersey reported its membership as 
follows: West Jersey, 492 ; Trenton, 352; East Jersey, 
365 ; Newark, 50 ; making an aggregate of 1259 mem- 
bers in the State, including Staten Island. This was 
the result of more than fifteen years' labor. Truly the 
progress of the work was not remarkably flattering. 
And yet who will say that twelve hundred and fifty-nine 
souls, gathered into the Church, and rejoicing, as most 
of them, no doubt, were, in the salvation of the gospel, 
were not an abundant, a glorious compensation for all 
that sacrifice and toil ? And then the prospects were 
brightening. The annual increase was becoming greater. 
Prejudices were being overcome, strong societies were 
rising up, churches were being built, and in every way 
the aspects of the cause were more encouraging and the 



PROSPECTS, RESULTS, AND LABORERS. 359 

future was radiant with brighter visions of success than 
ever before. 

"We have already noticed, with more or less of detail, 
the more important points in which Methodism had been 
established during this period. In the West Jersey cir- 
cuit there were two societies at Pittsgrove, one at Sa- 
lem, Maurice river, Quinton's Bridge, Penn's "Neck, 
Pleasant Mills, Goodluck, and Greenwich. Trenton 
circuit probably included the societies of New Mills, Tren- 
ton, Mount Holly, Burlington, and Monmouth. Newark 
circuit included Elizabethtown and Staten Island. East 
Jersey embraced the societies of New Germantown, As- 
bury, and Flanders. In various other localities there 
were classes, no doubt, and in several of the above 
named places the societies had gained such strength that 
they had erected Chapels. This was certainly true of 
Trenton, New Mills, Greenwich, Salem, Maurice river, 
Pleasant Mills, Goodluck, Pittsgrove, * and possibly of 

*It is probable that there were two Chapels in Pittsgrove at this 
time. I am not able to give the precise elate of the erection of either 
Church, but I have good authority for the assertion that the Broad 
Neck Chapel was built as early as 1785 or 1786 ; and as Murphy's or 
Friendship was the first society, and as the Church there was rebuilt 
more than twenty years before that at Broad Neck, it is entirely pro- 
bable that it was built -first. This accords, too, with the tradition of 
the place. The Broad Neck society must have been formed very soon 
after that at Murphy's, and as Abbott lived only a few miles from 



360 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

Flanders. When it is remembered that during this pe- 
riod there had been a deeply exciting and desolating 
seven years' war, the effects of which were seriously felt 
in New Jersey ; that the Church had only the most slen- 
der resources, except those which were Divine ; that it 
was without a regular organization, and its ministry 
without orders ; its condition at this period of its history 
with a considerable number of societies, and several 
churches erected, was certainly evidence of no mean 
success. Equipped for her career of trial and conflict, 
and panting for wider and grander scenes of battle and 
conquest, the Methodism of New Jersey rushed forward 
to the sublime arena before her ; while the splendors of 
her future triumphs, like the rays of light which gleam 
amid the darkness long before the sun appears, beamed, 
from afar, upon her path. 

The appointments in 1786 were as follows : Thomas 
Vasey being elder in West Jersey, and John Tunnell 
elder in East Jersey. Trenton, Robert Sparks, Robert 
Cann. West Jersey, Jacob Brush, John Simmons, Ja- 

there he probably formed it very shortly after he began his ministry. 
I am strongly inclined to the opinion that this was the society, the 
origin of which is given on page 108. It would be quite natural for 
the profane to substitute Hell Neck for Broad Neck, the former name 
being designed merely to correspond with the morals of the place. 



PROSPECTS, RESULTS, AND LABORERS. 861 

cob Lurton. East Jersey, John M'Claskey, Ezekiel 
Cooper. Newark, Robert Cloud. 

While laboring this year on Staten Island, which 
formed a part of the Newark (or Elizabethtown) circuit, 
Mr. Cloud had a public rencounter with a Baptist cler- 
gyman in which he triumphantly vindicated Methodism. 
An account of it has been kindly furnished for these 
pages by Rev. Francis A. Morrell, of the Xew Jersey 
Conference. It is as follows : — 

" The Baptist challenged Mr. Cloud to a public dis- 
cussion of the points of difference between Calvinists 
and Methodists. The challenge was accepted and a day 
fixed upon for the discussion. A minister of the Bap- 
tist Church and my father, the colleague of Mr Cloud, 
were elected to preside at the meeting that no undue ad- 
vantage might be taken on either side. On the way to 
the place of meeting, the Baptist polemic called at the 
house of one of his friends and said, ' I pity the Meth- 
odist, (Mr. Cloud.) for I shall easily overthrow his posi- 
tions, and utterly demolish him.' He seemed not aware 
of the strength of the positions of his antagonist, and 
of his ability to defend them. A multitude assembled 
to hear the debate. The meeting being organized, the 
discussion commenced with a speech from Mr. Cloud, in 
which he gave so clear an exposition of Methodist the- 
ology, its agreement with the word of God, and of the 



362 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IX NEW JERSEY. 



inconsistencies and absurdities of Calvinism, that his 
antagonist was scarcely able to make any reply, speak- 
ing only about half the time allotted to each speaker, 
ana 1 sat down. Mr. Cloud arose and spoke for a few 
minutes, observing that his arguments were unrefutecl, 
and as his antagonist had given him but little, if any- 
thing, to reply to, he would take his seat. No rejoinder 
being given, after a pause, my father arose and said, 
' As the discussion appears to be closed, I put it to the 
audience to decide whether Mr. Cloud or his opponent 
has triumphed/ A rising vote was taken, and Mr. 

Cloud declared the victor bv an almost unanimous vote. 

t/ 

" Methodism, which was at that time feeble on the 
Island, began to take root. The people flocked to hear 
the 4 circuit preachers,' received the truth gladly, and 
6 the word of God grew and multiplied/ " 

Some time during 1785 Adam Cloud and Matthew 
Greentree, who then traveled East Jersey circuit, visited 
Hightstown, and established preaching in a tavern kept 
by one Adam Shaw. They received, however, but little 
encouragement. John M'Claskey and Ezekiel Cooper, 
who succeeded them on the circuit this year, did not re- 
gard the appointment with much favor, and it is not cer- 
tain that Cooper preached there. M'Claskey preached 
there once or twice, 44 and then publicly informed the 
congregation that he would preach there once more, and 



PROSPECTS, RESULTS, AND LABORERS. 363 

then if a more suitable place for holding meeting could 
not be found he should cease to preach for them. Ro- 
bert Hutchinson, a young man of about twenty-one 
years of age, was present ; and, being pleased with the 
preacher, was unwilling to be deprived of the privilege 
of hearing him. He, therefore, persuaded his uncle, 
Joseph Hutchinson, to go and hear M'Claskey, and in- 
vite him to preach at his house. The invitation was 
given and accepted, and thus, early in the year 1786, 
the preaching was transferred from Hightstown to Mil- 
ford, about two and a half miles from the former place. 
Joseph Hutchinson's was quite a rendezvous for the 
weary itinerants, and being near the line between ' East' 
and 6 West Jersey,' the preachers on the two charges 
would sometimes meet here. Robert Hutchinson, with 
three brothers, Ezekiel, Sylvester, and Aaron, all four 
of whom afterward became preachers, went over to uncle 
Joseph's to i have the small-pox,' as they were accus- 
tomed to call it in 'olden time.' While there they met 
with a number of traveling preachers. On one occasion 
there were several together. Ezekiel Cooper, J. M'Clas- 
key from 4 East Jersey,' and Robert Sparks from 6 West 
Jersey,' among the number. They became wonderfully 
attached to them ; and their preaching and conversation 
made impressions which resulted in their conversion. 
During the year a class was organized ; and, among the 



864 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

number of its members were Joseph Hutchinson and 
wife. This brother was very zealous and enterprising, 
and soon after the organization of the class, "he erected 
at Milford, almost entirely at his own expense, a house 
of worship for the despised band. The location was un- 
favorable however, and from this or other causes the 
society never became large. It continued to be used as 
a place of worship down to about 1835, when a church 
was built at Hightstown, after which it was sold. The 
old church was the scene of stirring times, and many 
have there fallen under the power of God, and many 
passed from death unto life. Among the number con- 
verted here were four sons of William Hutchinson, 
brother of Joseph, named respectively, Ezekiel, Robert, 
Sylvester, and Aaron, who all became ministers of the 
M. E. Church."* 

Asbury, the indefatigable servant and the wise over- 
seer of the Church, urged his way heroically through the 
sands of West Jersey this year, to minister to the 
spiritual necessities of the scattered flock. " Since this 
day week," he says, a we have ridden about one hundred 
and fifty miles over dead sands, and among a dead peo- 
ple, and a long space between meals." The ensuing 
day, the 29th of September, he says he " preached in a 
close hot place, and administered the sacrament. I was 

* Communication of Kev. Hexsy B. Beegle to the writer. 



PROSPECTS, RESULTS, AND LABORERS. 365 

almost ready to faint. I feel fatigued and much dispir- 
ited." This was, probably, the Pleasant Mills' Chapel, 
as he says he lodged with Freedom Lucas, near Batsto, 
which place is only about a mile from Pleasant Mills. 
Asbury knew the tendency of worldly prosperity to im- 
properly exalt the mind and divest the Christian of his 
simplicity. Hence he said of Lucas, " V> r e shall see 
whether he will continue to be the same simple-hearted 
Christian he now is, when he gets possession of the es- 
tate which, it is said, has fallen to him in England." 
He was at Cape May, and other places in that region, 
but the impressions he received of the religious condi- 
tion of the societies were not of a sanguine character. 
Of the Cape he says : "I find there is a great dearth of 
religion in these parts." He was also at P. Cresey's 
where he " had a few cold hearers — the glory," he 
writes, " is strangely departed. There are a few pious 
souls at Gough's ; but here also there is an evident de- 
clension. My soul is under deep exercise on account of 
the deadness of the people, and my own want of fervor 
and holiness of heart." On Friday, the sixth of Octo- 
ber, he preached a warm and close sermon to a people 
who were attentive to the word at the Maurice river 
Church. His text was, "Lord, are there few that be 
saved?" On Sabbath he preached at New England- 
town. He says: "We had a small house and large con- 
23 



366 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



gregation. I had liberty in preaching on, ' By grace 
are ye saved through faith/ Thence I proceeded to 

M — 's, where I had poor times." At Murphy's, he 

says, 66 We had many dull, prayerless people. We came 
to the widow Ayars's ; the mother and daughters are se- 
rious, and the son thoughtful." Mrs. Susannah Ayars, 
of whom Asbury here speaks, was one of the first Meth- 
odists in Pittsgrove. She first received "the Lord's 
prophets" in that place. She died in peace about 1807. 

He preached at Bethel, on 1 Peter iii. 18. " Three 
times," he says, "have I been here, and always strait- 
ened in spirit." He also visited Sandtown. The 
weather was very warm and the people dull. He ad- 
ministered the sacrament. There must have been a so- 
ciety there, or else it does not appear probable he w T ould 
have held a sacramental service. He rode to Cooper's 
ferry, and crossed to the city, where he spent the Sab- 
bath. On Monday he rode to Mount Holly, where he 
preached on "Come, ye blessed of my father," &c. ; 
and at New Mills he addressed them on " Suffering af- 
fliction with the people of God." He preached also at 
Burlington on " Neither is there salvation in any other," 
&c. ; "these," he says, "are not a zealous people for re- 
ligion." The bishop's impressions of the spiritual con- 
dition of the people appear to have been unfavorable 
in most of the societies he visited in New Jersey at this 



PROSPECTS, RESULTS, AND LABORERS. 367 

time. At Monmouth he preached at Leonard's and the 
people, he said, appeared very lifeless. At the Potter's 
Church he had many to hear, "but the people," he says, 
"were insensible and unfeeling.'' 

The society in Penn's Neck, through the character- 
istic zeal and energy of Abbott, were favored with a 
Chapel about this year. "I had often urged on the 
people," says Abbott, "the necessity of building a meet- 
ing-house, for the space of about four years, in Lower 
Penn's Neck, during which period we had frequently 
held our meetings under the trees when the weather ad- 
mitted. One day meeting with a carpenter, I agreed 
with him to build one. He came at the time appointed. 
I told him that we had got no timber for the building, 
and therefore I must go a begging. Accordingly we 
set out and went to a neighbor, and told him we were 
going to build a house for God, and asked him what he 
would give us toward it; he answered, two sticks of tim- 
ber for sills. We then went to the widow M'C's, a pro- 
fessing Quaker, and she gave us two more, and sent her 
team to haul them to the place. Y> T e then went to Mr. 
Wm. Philpot, and he gave us sufficient for the house, 
though not even a professor with us ; may the Lord re- 
ward him accordingly. I then went among our friends, 
and told them that they must come and help to get the 
timber; they did so, and we began on Tuesday morning, 



368 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

and by Friday night we had all the timber at the place. 
Brother Henry Ffirth, a steward of the circuit, and my- 
self, were appointed managers to carry on the "building* 
The Friday week following, we raised our house, and in 
the afternoon preached on the foundation. In six weeks 
the carpenter had done his work, and I begged the 
money and paid him. This proved a great blessing to 
the neighborhood, the greater part of which became 
Methodized, and many were moralized and Christianized, 
while the enemies of truth daily lost ground, and bigotry 
gradually declined. " 

A Quarterly meeting was held in Penn's Neck during 
the present decade, in Joseph Cassner's barn. B. Ab- 
bott, a local preacher named Stratton, and many others, 
attended. It was a time of power. The people lay 
prostrate over the barn floor, many obtained religion and 
joined the Methodists. 

Notwithstanding the deadness of the people in West 
Jersey, of which Asbury complained, the work progressed ; 
and an increase of sixty-five was reported of the West 
Jersey, and twenty of the Trenton circuit, making an 
addition of eighty-five to the membership in West Jer- 
sey. In addition to this the work had extended to the 
people of color, and eight colored members were reported 
in West Jersey this year. 

Though the mission of Methodism has been more es- 



PROSPECTS, RESULTS, AND LABORERS. 369 

pecially to the lower classes, and its greatest moral 
achievements have been chiefly among them, yet has it 
also shown its adaptation to meet the spiritual necessities 
of the more wealthy, cultivated, and influential. Thou- 
sands of such have borne cheerful and emphatic testi- 
mony to its power as a redemptive agency, and have re- 
joiced to number themselves among its trophies. 

One such trophy was gained to the cause this year in 
Warren county. It was Col. William M'Cttllough. 
He was, at this time, about twenty-seven years of age. 
He witnessed the Revolutionary struggle, and bore a 
part in it in favor of the colonies. He now became the 
standard bearer of Methodism in Asbury, and about ten 
years afterward erected a Chapel there almost entirely 
by his own means. This was the first Methodist Church 
in Warren and Sussex counties. He was among the 
most prominent Methodists in the State, and his influ- 
ence was strongly felt in the region where he resided, 
and especially upon his own family. By his godly ex- 
ample and counsels they were prepared to receive the 
truth from the pulpit, and his children and children's 
children became consecrated offerings to Methodism. 
He was a man of a progressive spirit, and exercised his 
influence to promote internal improvements. He occu- 
pied important and responsible civil positions, filling 
some of the most respectable offices of his county, and 



370 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

for more than thirty years acted as an associate judge 
in the courts of Sussex and Warren. He was also fre- 
quently elected to a seat in the legislative council of the 
State. He was a steward of the circuit, and in his 
pleasant dwelling the preachers found a congenial home. 
Bishop Asbury, when traveling in that region, was ac- 
customed to enjoy the pleasures of his hospitality. He 
lived to a good old age, and, as he passed down the 
vale of years, religion shed its serene and benignant 
light upon his path. Having passed beyond the period 
of three-score and ten, he waited in cheerful confidence 
and hope for his change. His last illness was mild and 
brief, and his final hour was distinguished by the calm- 
ness of Christian peace, and the triumphs of Christian 
faith. After the power of speech had failed, a relative 
asked him if his confidence in Christ was still unshaken, 
and if so, to raise his right hand. He immediately 
raised both, one after the other, and attempted to elevate 
his whole body, thus evincing how powerful was the 
grace he had professed for over half a century to sustain 
him as he stood amidst the swellings of Jordan. He 
died at his residence at Asbury on the 9th of February, 
1840, in the eighty-second year of his age. Asbury ap- 
pears to have been one of the first localities in East Jer- 
sey into which Methodism was introduced, but the pre- 
cise time and manner of its introduction are now un- 



PROSPECTS, RESULTS, AND LABORERS. 371 

known. The Rev. Jacob P. Daily, the present pastor 
of the Church there, in a letter to the -writer says : 

" Unfortunately for the historic interests of this place, 
there are no local records of Methodism here for the 
period embraced in your "work. I doubt very much 
"whether there ever were any such records, beyond a 
class book, until 1T95. From conversation with some 
very old members of our Church some time since, I con- 
clude that Methodism was introduced into this region 
prior to the Revolution. Dr. Coke once passed this 
way and called on some Methodist families. Our oldest 
living member, aged ninety-six, remembers Joseph Ev- 
erett as 6 the first Methodist minister she ever heard 
preach/ There were some Methodists before that day. 
She describes Everett as a fine sized, fine looking man, 
wearing a Quaker hat, and a suit of drab colored i home- 
spun.' " Mr. Daily further says that there are no in- 
cidents of Methodism during the period of this volume 
to be gathered in Asbury, as no data of that sort now 
exist. Nearly all the first members of the first societies 
have passed away, and much of our history has departed 
with them. The wonder is not that so little now re- 
mains, but it is rather a marvel, considering the indiffer- 
ence of the Church and ministry generally to this sub- 
ject, that we are able to obtain so many reminiscences 
of the past. Had the attempt which we are now making 



872 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

been faithfully made twenty years ago, much, might have 
been rescued which is now irrecoverably lost. And yet 
we should be thankful for what has been done. Suffi- 
cient historical material has been preserved to enable us 
to trace, with a good degree of distinctness, the begin- 
nings, struggles, and successes of Methodism in our 
State. 

There was a handsome addition made to the member- 
ship in East Jersey this year. The largest increase was 
on the Newark (it is reported Elizabethtown at the end 
of the year) circuit, which was largely, and, perhaps, 
chiefly, owing to the revival which had taken place on 
Staten Island. There was reported an increase on this 
circuit of 190 members. In the East Jersey circuit just 
one hundred were added to the membership, making an 
addition of 290 for the Northern part of the work. 

Of the ten preachers that labored in New Jersey this 
year, five had previously labored in the State, and no- 
tices of them have already been given. To those who 
appear for the first time in our pathway our attention 
will now be turned. 

Thomas Vasey came to America with Dr. Coke and 
Richard Whatcoat, in 1784, just before the organization 
of the Church. He was one of the first Methodist 
preachers that was ordained. In process of time he ob- 
tained reordination by a bishop of the Protestant Epis- 



PROSPECTS, RESULTS, AND LABORERS. 373 

copal Church, and sometime afterward returned to Eng- 
land ; but it is believed he was never recognized there as 
a minister of the Church of England. 

Robert Caxx entered the itinerancy in 1785, and 
was appointed to Annamessex, Md. In 1786 he appears 
as remaining on trial, and was appointed to Trenton, JS*. 
J. In 1787 he was sent to travel the West Jersey cir- 
cuit, but his name stands connected also with Clarksburg 
circuit; in 1788 he was appointed to Chester, Pa.; 1789, 
Bristol, Pa. ; 1790, Bethel, N. J. ; 1791, Trenton, N. J.; 
in 1792 he again traveled Bethel circuit, X. J. In 1793 
he was appointed to Burlington. He located in 1794. 
He continued in the itinerancy longer after he was mar- 
ried than the preachers of that day appear to have been 
accustomed to do. He was married in 1788, and did 
not locate till six years afterward. The slight notices 
of him we have been able to obtain represent him as an 
earnest, zealous, and effective preacher, declaring the 
word in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power. He 
died in 1796, leaving a widow and two small children. 

Johx Simmoxs was admitted on trial in 1786, and ap- 
pointed to West Jersey. In 1787 he was appointed to 
Alleghany. He labored in various places in Maryland, 
Virginia, South Carolina, and elsewhere. In 1807 he 
located. 

Jacob Lurtox was also admitted this year, and ap- 



374 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

pointed to West Jersey. The following year he was 
sent to Berkeley, Va. He continued to labor in Virginia 
and elsewhere until 1795, when he located, and disap- 
peared from our view. 

Ezekiel Cooper was born in Caroline Co., Md., Feb. 
22, 1763. When he was about thirteen years of age 
Rev. Freeborn Garrettson visited the neighborhood and 
preached. While preaching he noticed a boy of thought- 
ful aspect leaning upon a gate, and giving, apparently, 
close attention to the sermon. That boy was Ezekiel 
Cooper, afterward so prominent a character in the history 
of the Church. 

It was the privilege of Cooper to be present at the 
memorable meeting of Coke and Asbury, at Barrett's 
Chapel, Md., on the 14th of November, 1784. He thus 
describes the scene: "While Dr. Coke was preaching, 
Mr. Asbury came into the congregation. A solemn 
pause and deep silence took place at the close of the 
sermon, as an interval for introduction and salutation. 
Asbury and Coke, with great solemnity, and much dig- 
nified sensibility, and with full hearts of brotherly love, 
approached, embraced, and saluted each other. The 
other preachers, at the same time, participating in the 
tender sensibilities of the affectionate salutations, were 
melted into sweet sympathy and tears. The congrega- 
tion also caught the glowing emotion, and the whole as- 



PROSPECTS, RESULTS, AND LABORERS. 375 

sernbly, as if Divinely struck with a shock of heavenly 
electricity, burst into a flood of tears. Every heart ap- 
peared as if filled and overflowing with love, unity, and 
fellowship ; and a kind of ecstasy, or rapture of joy and 
gladness, ensued." 

It was on this occasion that Cooper first received the 
sacrament of the Lord's Supper. It was administered 
by Dr. Coke and Mr. TThatcoat. It was on this occa- 
sion also that he was induced to enter the itinerancy. 
Asbury, discerning, no doubt, elements of success in the 
young man, persuaded him to go forth as a laborer into 
the field which was ripe for the harvest. Some of the 
other preachers seconded his advice, and though he had 
never publicly preached a sermon, nor made application 
to travel, nor even contemplated it, he consented to enter 
the work. Of this important event of his life, he says, 
"It was unsought, and when I went to that meeting, 
perfectly unexpected. With much diffidence, and great 
reluctance, I yielded to go ; though pressed to it by my 
greatly beloved and much esteemed brother xlsbury, 
and encouraged and urged to it by some of the other 
preachers. Old brother W. Thomas held up both his 
hands toward me, and in a loving and alarming manner, 
addressed me, 'I warn you, in the name of God, not to 
refuse ! I do not know but your salvation depends upon 
it ! God has a work for you to do, and he has called 



376 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

you to it ; and wo be unto you if you preach not the 
gospel !' That address thrilled through me like thunder ; 
my heart filled, I could say no more. They had some 
knowledge of my deep exercises about preaching, and 
they believed that I was 6 verily called to the work.' 
They having heard me in conversation, and in the close 
of meetings, a few times, exhort and pray, they supposed 
I had £ a talent to be improved.' " 

Cooper was admitted on trial in 1785, and appointed 
to Long Island. In 1786 he traveled East Jersey circuit. 
In 1787 he rode Trenton circuit, N. J. In 1788 he was 
sent to Baltimore. In 1789-90 he was stationed at An- 
napolis, Md. He continued to fill important positions 
in the Church for a series of years, when he located, in 
which position he continued eight years, when he re- 
entered the itinerant ranks, but was soon after placed on 
the supernumerary list in the Philadelphia Conference. 

He was one of the most powerful logicians in the 
Church in his day, and his logic was impassioned. It 
was not that sort of cold dry reasoning which wearied 
without profiting the hearer, but while it enlightened the 
understanding it also stirred the emotions. One of the 
fruits of his ministry in New Mills, New Jersey, more 
than seventy years ago, is still living at Camden, at the 
advanced age of ninety years. After he became super- 
annuated he labored extensively, preaching with zeal and 



PROSPECTS, RESULTS, AND LABORERS. 377 

power at Camp meetings, Quarterly meetings, &c. His 
last sickness was brief and marked by the serenity of 
Christian peace. He also, at times, greatly triumphed 
in Christ. On one occasion, having been engaged in 
prayer, he broke forth into praise, and shouted aloud 
about a dozen times, " Hallelujah ! Hallelujah !" 

On Sunday the 21st of February, 1847, he peacefully 
terminated his pilgrimage, at the advanced age of eighty- 
four years and in the sixty-second of his ministry. At 
the time of his death he was the oldest member of any 
Methodist Conference in America. 

The following brief portraiture of Mr. Cooper is from 
the pen of Rev. Dr. A. Stevens : 

"Mr. Cooper's personal appearance embodied the 
finest idea of age, intelligence, and piety combined. 
His frame was tall and slight, his locks white with years, 
his forehead high and prominent, and his features ex- 
pressive at once of benignity, subtlety, and serenity. 
A wen had been enlarging on his neck from his child- 
hood, but without detracting from the peculiarly elevated 
and characteristic expression of his face. He was con- 
sidered by his ministerial associates, a fi living Encyclo- 
pedia/ in respect not only to theology, but most other 
departments of knowledge, and his large and accurate 
information was only surpassed by the range and sound- 
ness of his judgment. He sustained a prominent posi- 



378 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

tion in the annals of the Church, during both its ad- 
versity and its prosperity ; the delineation of his re- 
markable character should devolve upon an- able hand, 
and will form an important feature in the history of our 
cause/' 



t 



LABORS AXD LABORERS — 1787. 



379 



CHAPTER XIX. 

LABORS AND LABORERS— 1787. 

In 1787 New Jersey comprised one district, including 
New York city, New Rochelle, and Long Island, of 
which Thomas Foster was elder. The other preachers 
that were appointed to labor in New Jersey were sta- 
tioned as follows : Elizabethtown, Robert Cloud, Thomas 
Morrell. "West Jersey, Robert Cann, John M'Claskey, 
John Milburn. Trenton, Ezekiel Cooper, Nathaniel B. 
Mills. East Jersey, Simon Pyle, Cornelius Cook. 

Bishop Asbury made a brief incursion into New Jer- 
sey very soon after the Conference. It adjourned at 
Baltimore on the sixth of May, and before the middle 
of the same month ne was at Trenton, but found the 
people there very lifeless. Methodism seems to have 
prospered most during this early period in New Jersey 
in the less densely populated communities. In the larger 
towns its progress was slow, and in several of them, as 
New Brunswick and Newark, for example, it did not be- 



880 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

come established until after the period embraced in the 
present work. Being itinerant in its spirit, and aiming 
to preach the gospel to the poor, the early Methodism 
of New Jersey went into the highways and hedges, and 
sought to bring the maimed, the blind, and the outcast 
to the banquet table of heavenly mercy. 

We have seen that, when Methodism was introduced 
into Elizabethtown, the Episcopal clergyman there wel- 
comed it, and co-operated with it, and we find this year 
another evidence of the cordial feeling with which the 
movement was regarded by that Church. Dr. Coke and 
Bishop Asbury visiting the town this year, the doctor 
preached a lively sermon in the Episcopal Church, "and 
we had," says Asbury, " a good time." 

He made an excursion in July through the northern 
end of the State. The people there appear to have been 
awake to the subject of Methodism. At Warwick, he 
says, " I suppose not less than a thousand people were 
collected. I was very low, both in body and spirit, but 
felt stirred up at the sight of such a congregation, and 
was moved and quickened while I enlarged on Gal. i. 4. 
I baptized some, and administered the sacrament to many 
communicants." 

At B 's a multitude attended in a barn. This 

was probably Banghart's — the father of Rev. (jr. Bang- 
hart of the Newark Conference. Mr. B.'s was one of 



LABORS AXD LABORERS — 1787. 



381 



the earliest preaching places in Warren county. The 
■work of religion had already been going on among the 
people there, for Asbury says, " Here God hath wrought 
a great work for a poor, blind, ignorant people. He 
was also at Sweezy's, where they were blest with a good 
time, and where there appears to have been a society, or, 
at least, Methodists, as he administered the sacrament. 
On Sunday he preached to a multitude in the woods. 
There were nearly a thousand people to listen to the 
word. He felt rather depressed, both mentally and 
physically, but "had some gracious feelings in the sacra- 
ment. Others also felt the quickening power of God." 
He baptized a number of adults and infants, both by 
sprinkling and immersion. 

Thomas Foster, the elder in New Jersey this year, 
entered the itinerant connection in 1780. His labors 
were confined chiefly to Virginia and Maryland until 
1792, when his name disappears from the minutes. He 
was esteemed a man of genuine piety and sound talent. 
He was, it is said, a fair example of the first race of 
Methodist preachers. 

Thomas Morrell is a distinguished name in Ameri- 
can Methodist history. He was born in the city of New 
York, November 22nd, 1747. His mother was a mem- 
ber of the first class formed by Philip Embury in the 

year 1766. The family removed to Elizabethtown, N. J. 
24 



382 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



in 1772, and there being no Methodists there the parents 
united with the Presbyterian Church. Soon after the 
first struggle of the Revolutionary conflict at Lexington, 
a company of volunteers was raised chiefly by a patriotic 
address which he delivered to a body of Jersey militia, 
and he marched at their head to New York to join Gen. 
Washington's army. He was dangerously wounded in 
the battle on Long Island, and performed valiant service 
for his country as a military officer in the war of Inde- 
pendence. Under the first sermon of Rev. John Hag- 
erty, as we have seen, in Elizabethtown, he was awak- 
ened, and early in the year 1785 was converted. He 
soon after abandoned a lucrative business and entered 
the itinerancy. His first field of labor was Staten 
Island, in which he was continued in 1787, it forming a 
part of Elizabethtown circuit. This year he was ad- 
mitted on trial. In 1788 he was ordained a deacon and 
traveled Trenton circuit. In 1789 he was stationed in 
New York where he was continued five years. In 1791, 
at Bishop Asbury's request, he left New York and ac- 
companied him to Charleston, S. C, where he labored a 
few months, it being a time of secession from the Church 
in that city. In 1794-5 he was stationed in Philadel- 
phia. Here he was taken sick and did not fully recover 
until 1799. He was then stationed two years in Baltimore, 
and in 1802-3 he was stationed again in New York two 



LABORS AND LABORERS — 1787. 



383 



years. This was his last appointment out of Elizabeth- 
town, as failing health compelled him to retire, but he 
continued for sixteen years to preach as often as when 
he traveled more extensively ; and, until a few years be- 
fore his death he preached once each Sabbath in Eliza- 
bethtown. 

Mr. Morrell lived to the very advanced age of ninety. 
He closed his eventful and useful life on the morning of 
the 9th of August, 1838. The following brief portrait- 
ure was written at the request of the writer, by Rev. 
John Lee, who knew him well and enjoyed his confidence 
and friendship : 

" In person, Thomas Morrell was below the medium 
height, with a square built, well knit frame, indicative 
of great muscular strength and capability of endurance ; 
qualities almost essential in a pioneer of Methodism. 
He had a noble physiognomy, a dark piercing eye — the 
index of an intelligent mind; and a countenance on 
which the most casual observer might read decision and 
firmness, in combination with great kindness of heart, 
giving him a beautifully symmetrical, intellectual, and 
moral character, which, in connection with a strong clear 
voice of which he had complete control, admirably fitted 
him to become a useful and influential man, and under 
the teachings of the Holy Spirit, an acceptable and sue- 



384 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

cessful preacher of the word of God — eminently a pol- 
ished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty. 

" The air of authority, promptness of decision, and 
firmness in adhering to his purpose when deliberately 
formed, might sometimes appear to a stranger like stern- 
ness and dogmatism ; but to those intimately acquainted 
with him this was well understood, and attributed, doubt- 
less, to its proper cause — the habit of command — ac- 
quired while a field officer (major) in the army of the 
Revolution, and not likely to be diminished by the 
highly responsible positions he was called to occupy 
during his early ministerial career, and which adhered 
to him, in some degree, during the remainder of his life. 

" As a preacher, Thomas Morrell must unquestionably 
take rank with the first class of Methodist ministers in 
his day. His appearance and manner in the pulpit was 
grave and dignified, befitting the ambassador of God. 
His sermons were characterized by strong sense and 
sound theology ; his deductions were logical, his analysis 
clear, and his application forcible, discriminating, and 
faithful ; and not unfrequently his preaching was attend- 
ed with an unction that affected his own heart, causing 
the tears, unbidden, to trickle down his cheeks, and 
being communicated to his hearers, a large part of his 
audience would be melted down in humility, reverence, 
and love." 



LABORS AND LABORERS — 1787. 



385 



His son, Rev. Francis A. Morrell, speaks of him, and 
his last moments as follows : 

" In his life he was the friend of the indigent — his 
house the home of the way-worn itinerant, and his at- 
tachment to the Church of his choice strengthened as 
years multiplied upon him ; as a husband and father he 
was affectionate and kind. 

" In his last illness, which was protracted, he suffered 
much from soreness of the throat, accompanied with an 
asthmatic affection, yet he uttered no complaint— not a 
murmur was heard ; and, though he desired the hour of 
deliverance to arrive, yet was perfectly resigned to the 
will of God. On Monday morning previous to his death 
he repeated audibly three times, ' Though I walk through 
the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for 
the Lord is with me.' To our deeply afflicted mother he 
said, 4 Why do you weep? I am going to glory.' On 
the 8th inst., at his request, the 23d psalm was read and 
the £ Christian's home' was sung, in which he made an 
effort to join, and said, ' I shall soon be there.' Being 
asked if death was a terror to him, he replied in the 
negative, and said, ' I have gotten the victory.' He 
retained his consciousness to the last, and faintly ut- 
tered, a few minutes before his death, 6 All is well.' " 

Of John Milburn we are able to obtain no informa- 
tion other than that he joined the traveling connection 



386 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

in 1787, and was appointed respectively to West Jersey, 
Chester, Pa., Talbot, Somerset, Caroline, Northampton, 
in Md., Dover, Del., Prince George's, Somerset, and 
Dorchester, Md. In 1798 his name does not stand con- 
nected with any appointment on the minutes. In 1799 
he located. 

Nathaniel B. Mills was born in New Castle, Del., 
the 23d of February, 1766. Until the fifteenth year 
of his age he indulged in the usual follies and vices of 
youth, thougti not without frequent reproaches of con- 
science. At this early age he was led, chiefly through 
the instrumentality of Methodism, to a discovery of his 
perilous condition as a sinner, and his need of a saving 
interest in the atonement of Christ. Under the influ- 
ence of these convictions he " became an habitually se- 
rious seeker of salvation.'' It was two years, however, 
before he became consciously reconciled to God. Not 
long after he was convinced of his need of a deeper work 
of grace, and he began to seek the entire sanctification 
of his nature, " which," he says, "I trust, I found in 
some degree, at least, about the twentieth year of my 
age." Soon after his conversion, he felt desires to warn 
his fellow men to flee from the wrath to come, and he 
began to exhort them accordingly, first in his own neigh- 
borhood, and then at a distance as Providence opened 
the way. After much deliberation and prayer, that he 



LABORS AND LABORERS — 1787. 



387 



might not be deceived in a matter of so great importance 
to himself and others, he offered himself to the Baltimore 
Conference in May, 1787, and was received and appointed 
to Trenton, N. J. The following year he was on Salem 
circuit, and in 1789 he was appointed to Newburg, N. Y. 
The next year he appears as one of the coadjutors of 
Lee in the land of the Puritans, and was appointed to 
Hartford, Conn., and in 1791 to Fairfield, Conn. The 
following year he was appointed to Dorchester, Md. ; 
in 1793 he was sent to Bristol, Pa. ; 1794, Caroline, 
Md. ; 1795, Lancaster, Pa. ; 1796, Federal, Md. " In 
1797-8 we find his appointment bearing the significant 
designation, c Ohio ; it, doubtless, verged on, if it did 
not penetrate, the wilderness which since, under the same 
name, has become the noblest State of the West." In 
1799 he was in Maryland, on Prince George's circuit ; 
"in 1800 he w T as colleague of the veteran James Quinn, 
at Pittsburg, under the Presiding Eldership of Daniel 
Hitt, an illustrious companionship. During twenty- 
four years we find him pursuing his ministerial career in 
the Baltimore Conference, moving to and fro, from its 
eastern circuits to Ohio, and from the interior of Penn- 
sylvania to that of Virginia, until 1824, when he ap- 
pears in the list of the 6 superannuated and worn out 
preachers' of that Conference, in company with Nelson 
Reed, Joshua Wells, and other distinguished veterans. 



388 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

But it is hard for a hero to retire from the field while 
the clarion is still sounding, or the shout of battle is on 
the air ; and even the old war horse c saith among the 
trumpets, Aha ! aha ! and smells the battle afar off, the 
thunder of the captains and the shouting.' Though he 
had passed nearly forty years in the ministry, we find 
the hoary headed Mills, at the next Conference, leaving 
the ranks of the superannuated, and entering again the 
effective lists, where he continued till 1829, when, after 
a laborious ministry of forty-two years, he took his place 
among the supernumeraries of the Conference. He con- 
tinued, however, to preach regularly, being appointed 
that year to Rockingham ; in 1830, to Great Falls ; 
1831, Loudon and Fairfax ; 1832, Baltimore circuit ; 
1833, Liberty; and in 1834, Frederick. In 1835 he 
was compelled to retire again to the ranks of the super- 
annuated, where he continued till his death. The min- 
istry of the word w r as, however, ' a ruling passion' with 
him, and it was strong even till death. He continued 
to labor with untiring constancy, as he had strength and 
opportunity ; and the last public act of his protracted 
ministry was performed on the last Sabbath of his life. 
On the morning of that day he preached his last sermon. 
The selection of his final text was characteristic of the 
veteran soldier of Christ, it was from Judges v. 31 : 6 So 
let all thine enemies be scattered, 0 Lord ; but let them 



LABORS AND LABORERS — 1787. 389 

that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his 
might.' "* 

On the Thursday morning following, the day on which 
he died, he led the devotions of the family. " He was," 
say his brethren, " a holy man of God, and though we 
are not permitted to claim for him entire exemption from 
the ordinary infirmities and weaknesses inseparable from 
humanity, we are, at least, warranted in saying that 
these infirmities are seldom found associated with greater 
purity of purpose and innocency of life. He was also 
a sound, good, and practical preacher, of the primitive 
school of Methodist ministers. He was, indeed, one of 
the last of that highly interesting class of men, to whom, 
under God, the Church and the world are so deeply in- 
debted. His death may, to some extent, be regarded as 
the severance of the last link — so far, at least, as the 
ministry of this Conference is concerned — by which the 
past and the present have heretofore been united. 
6 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright ; for the 
end of that man is peace.' " 

Simon Pyle was born in or near Westchester, Chester 
county, Pa., in the year 1759. He was received on trial 
in 1784, and appointed to Juniata, Pa. In 1785 he was 
sent to Fairfax, Va. ; 1786," Sussex, Va. The remain- 
ing years of his itinerancy were spent in New Jersey, 

* Stevens's Memorials. 



390 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

on the following circuits respectively: East Jersey, 
1787; Elizabethtown, 1788; Salem, 1789; Trenton, 
1790; Burlington, 1791. This is the last year his 
name appears on the minutes. He married in 1792 and 
retired from the itinerant ranks, and settled upon a farm 
in Monmouth county, New Jersey, about three miles east 
of Freehold. His wife was a Miss Leonard, who, al- 
though her parents were Episcopalians at Shrewsbury, 
Monmouth county, had embraced religion and joined 
the M. E. Church. In 1812 she and his eldest daughter 
died, and in 1817 he married the widow of Benjamin 
Tharp, whose maiden name was Abigal Lippencott. 
She still survives him in the 78th year of her age, and 
the 63d or 64th of her membership in the Church. For 
sixty years she maintained a remarkably punctual at- 
tendance upon the ordinances of the Church. 

Mr. Pyle died in 1822, and very little information can 
now be gathered concerning his ministerial character 
and labors. We are indebted for the following brief 
sketch to Rev. Garner B. Snyder, of the New Jersey 
Conference, the present pastor of the M. E. Church at 
Freehold, N. J. : 

" Simon Pyle lived in this community for thirty years, 
but was known rather as a farmer and local preacher 
than as a regular minister ; and having been dead nearly 
38 years it is not strange that he is nearly forgotten. 



LABORS AND LABORERS — 1787. 



391 



But to the extent he is remembered his memory is respected. 
He seems to have borne an unblemished Christian char- 
acter, and for many years to have swayed a wide and 
wholesome influence as a Christian and local preacher. 
He solemnized many marriages, went far and near to 
visit the sick and bury the dead, and generally preached 
once or more on the Sabbath. I gather that he was a 
clear, sound, instructive preacher, but comparatively un- 
impassioned, and hence of limited popularity ; and be- 
ing chiefly occupied in other pursuits, as a matter of 
course he became less and less attractive as years and 
infirmities increased. He was not a sensation preacher, 
and, indeed, labored under the disadvantage of a poor 
delivery, and so never drew crowds to hear him, and 
never occasioned any special excitement. But his con- 
sistent piety, his uniform course, his marked punctuality, 
his strong sense and clear insight into the plan of salva- 
tion, together with his self-sacrificing responses to calls 
on behalf of the sick and dead, and to supply the lack 
of ministerial service in those destitute times, rendered 
him a usefully influential man." 

Curnelius Cook was a native of Great Britain, but 
was converted and called to preach in this country. He 
entered the itinerancy in 1787, and was appointed to 
East Jersey. In 1788 he was appointed to Dutchess, 
N. Y, 5 and in 1789 to Schenectady, N. Y. He was a 



392 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

very feeble man physically, and his career was brief but 
useful. During his last illness he was visited by Asbury 
and Grarrettson, both of whom found him happy in the 
faith and hope of the gospel he had preached. " He 
was a faithful laborer and patient sufferer/' says the 
brief obituary notice in the minutes, " while he was em- 
ployed in the Church for three years ; and departed in 
peace and confidence, in the month of August, 1789. " 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1788. 



393 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1788. 

The labors of the past year resulted in an increase 
of nearly four hundred members in New Jersey, making 
at the beginning of the* ecclesiastical year, 1788, a mem- 
bership of 2046, white and colored. Twelve preachers 
were appointed to labor in the State this year, as fol- 
lows : — James 0. Cromwell, elder. 

Salem, Joseph Cromwell, Nathaniel B. JMills, John 
Cooper. 

Trenton, John Merrick, Thomas Morrell, Jethro 
Johnson. 

Elizabethtown, John M'Claskey, Simon Pile. 

Flanders, Jesse Lee, Aaron Hutchinson, John Lee. 

It will be observed that the West Jersey circuit ap- 
pears, for the first time this year, under the new name of 
Salem. There was a small decrease in the membership 
of this circuit the present year. 

It was about this year that the first Methodist house 
of worship was erected in Burlington. 



394 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

Burlington enjoys the signal honor of being the first 
place in New Jersey in which Methodism was established. 
The progress of the cause was slow during the first years 
of its history there, yet it has always been a prominent 
society, and was from the beginning favored with the 
presence and labors of such men as Capt. Webb, its 
founder, Francis Asbury, Richard Boardman, and John 
King. Indeed, Asbury acted the part of a pastor over 
the Burlington and Trenton societies in the time of their 
early infancy. In his Journal, May 22, 1791, he says : 
" Eighteen years ago I often slipped away from Phila- 
delphia to Burlington one week, and to Trenton another, 
to keep a few souls alive : 1 had then no Conferences to 
take up my time and occupy my thoughts ; and now— 
what hath G<*d wrought !" 

During the Revolutionary struggle, like most of the 
societies in New -Jersey, it suffered reverses. The 
preaching was held, during the first years of its history, 
in the Court house; the courts being then held in Bur- 
lington, but since removed to Mount Holly, about six 
miles distant. The following account of the building of 
the first Church in Burlington is from the pen of Rev. 
Dr. Porter of the Newark Conference, and was pub- 
lished in the Christian Advocate and Journal in the 
year 1840 : 

"Soon after the war of the Revolution the Court 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1T88. 



395 



house was taken down, and the Methodists were com- 
pelled, from the necessity of the case, to meet in a small 
private house, occupied by Mr. George Smith, who was 
himself a Methodist. While things were thus, it was 
sometime about the year 1T8T or 1788, that General 
Joseph Bloomfield (who was for some time governor of 
this State) asked Mr. James Sterling, who was then a 
member of the M. E. Church, why they did not have a 
house of prayer \ where they might meet for public wor- 
ship and the preaching of the word.' The answer of 
Mr. Sterling was, <YTe are too poor ; we have no ground 
to build it on, and nothing to build it with.' The gen- 
eral generously replied, i I will give a lot of ground if 
you will put up the house.' Mr. Sterling at once re- 
solved to make an effort, and said to Mr. Smith, at whose 
house the meetings were held, ' If vou will beg; the 
money to pay the workmen, I will find all the materials.' 
This Mr. Smith did, and thus they obtained their first 
house of prayer, which, for the time, was considered 
quite respectable. In the month of September, 1790, 
there was a Conference held here. Bishop Asbury re- 
marks in his Journal: c On Tuesday night we had a 
shout; then came the bulls of Bashan and broke our 
windows. It was well my head escaped the violence of 
these wicked sinners.' " 

Methodism has ever demonstrated its power as a puri- 



396 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

fying and elevating agency in society, by its beneficent 
effects upon the masses. For that reason it has always 
commended itself to the good sense and hearty sympa- 
thy of many persons of intelligence and influence out- 
side of its ecclesiastical enclosure, who have evinced 
their appreciation of it by generous efforts to promote 
its influence. Gen. Bloomfield believed, no doubt, that 
a Methodist Church in Burlington would be a blessing 
to the inhabitants, and, accordingly, he presented to the 
society the ground on which they might rear their temple 
of worship. This noble expression of sympathy and 
good will should ever be held in grateful remembrance 
by Burlington Methodists. 

Soon after this church was erected, Bishop Asbury 
visited Burlington, and October 6, 1789, he writes in 
his Journal, " After twenty years preaching they have 
built a very beautiful meeting-house at Burlington, but 
it is low time's there in religion." 

Methodism has since been steadily advancing in Bur- 
lington. In 1821 larger church accommodations were 
found to be necessary, and accordingly the present 
Broad Street Church was erected. It stands upon the 
ground which was occupied by the old Court house, 
which, in connection with the Market house, was the 
scene of the first labors and triumphs of the cause in the 
city. During the two years in which Dr. Porter was 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1788. 397 

pastor of the Church, (1838-39,) the membership was 
almost doubled, and for several years there have been 
two Methodist Churches in the city, each supporting its 
own pastor. For an account of the introduction of 
Methodism into Burlington, and also into Trenton, and 
of its first struggles in those cities, the reader is referred 
to the first chapters of this work. 

When Jesse Lee entered upon his work in the Flan- 
ders circuit, which lay partly in New Jersey and partly 
in New York, he found there were formidable difficulties 
to contend with in the prosecution of his labors. The 
population was very heterogeneous, being composed of 
people of various nations, and their religious creeds 
were as different as the places of their nativity. But 
the predominant creed was that of Calvin. It was main- 
tained in all its rigor. There was no softening down of 
its distinctive features of unconditional election and 
reprobation in its presentation from the pulpit, the 
Churches generally were in a lukewarm state, and what 
zeal they did manifest was more for doctrines than for 
graces. Mr. Lee could not be satisfied without attempt- 
ing to counteract this state of things. He was the her- 
ald of what he regarded as a purer faith, and he exhib- 
ited it clearly and boldly. Sometimes, too, he publicly 
attacked Calvinism, " and opposed it with all the energy 

and skill he could command. On one occasion he spoke 
25 



398 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

' freely and fully against unconditional election and 
reprobation;' and he 'found great liberty in speaking, 
and the power of God attended the word. Many of the 
people wept, and some cried aloud.' " He became so 
bold in his utterances that at length he asserted " that 
God had taken his oath against Calvinism, because he 
had declared, by the mouth of the prophet : 'As I live, 
saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of 
the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and 
live.' On uttering these words," he says, "I felt so 
much of the power of God, that it appeared to me as if 
the truth of the doctrine was sealed to the hearts of the 
hearers." 

The following incident which, it is said, probably oc- 
curred on this circuit, affords a good illustration of the 
spirit and manner of Mr. Lee in combating Calvinism. 
He went to hear a Calvinistic minister preach, and seated 
himself in the congregation, in front of the pulpit. The 
minister announced his text, Psa. ex. 3. " Thy people 
shall be made willing in the day of thy power." Mr. 
Lee did not feel quite comfortable. The minister slowly 
and solemnly repeated it. Lee rose upon his feet, and 
respectfully addressing the minister, said : 

"My dear sir, have you not mistaken the text?" 

The minister, somewhat astonished, replied, he had 
not. 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1788. 399 



" Will you please read it again ?" said Mr. Lee. 

He read it again, but in the same way. 

" Are you quite sure you read it right f asked Lee. 

" Quite certain of it," replied the minister. 

" Well, that's very singular ; it don't read so in my 
Bible," said the earnest advocate of free will, at the 
same time holding up a small pocket Bible towards the 
pulpit, with the request, " Will you be good enough to 
read once more, and see if the word made is in the 
text?" 

The minister commenced reading, slowly, " Thy — peo- 
ple — shall — be — " he paused, gazed earnestly at the 
words, and again read, — " Thy people shall be willing 
in the day of thy power." " True enough, there's no such 
word in the text." Lee resumed his seat. Notwith- 
standing, the minister did not see how the people could 
be willing unless they were made so, and he preached 
the doctrine, though the congregation perceived the force 
of Lee's commentary. 

" The obstacles this forcing theory of Christianity 
was constantly opposing to the success of Mr. Lee," re- 
marks his biographer, "had no inconsiderable influence, 
it is likely, in leading him so publicly and earnestly to 
seek to expose its unscripturalness. But perhaps his 
zeal for truth was more commendable than his mode of 
pursuing it, at least, in the instance above related." 



400 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

The condition of the work on this circuit during the 
former part of the year was not encouraging. Several 
months passed before any fruit appeared to" cheer the 
hearts of the laborers. At length, in January, 1789, 
signs of promise began to be visible. The congregations 
increased in number, and were more solemn. The 
classes were better attended, and all the religious meet- 
ings were more interesting and spiritual. At a watch 
night service Lee preached on 1 Cor. xvi. 13: — " Watch 
ye" "I found," he says, "great liberty in speaking 
from these words, and was blessed in my own soul. I 
spoke very long and loud, the power of God came down 
among the people, and many of them wept greatly ; 
many groaned and wept aloud. 0 my soul, praise the 
Lord, and let the remembrance of this meeting make me 
ever thankful. I spoke with tears in my eyes and com- 
fort in my soul. If I may judge from my own feelings, 
or the looks of the people, I should conclude that a re- 
vival of religion is about to take place in the neighbor- 
hood. I have not seen so melting a time among them 
before. I knew not how to give over speaking, and con- 
tinued for an hour and three quarters." 

The work began to prosper, and the revival influence 
vouchsafed to the circuit continued until the time for the 
preachers to take their departure to Conference. Still, 
the minutes show a decrease of 274 white members on 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1788. 



401 



Flanders circuit this year, and one colored member. 
The cause of this large decrease we have no means of 
ascertaining. "Whether it was caused by wholesale back- 
sliding, or removals, or members joining other churches, 
or all of these combined, we cannot tell, but surely the 
declension was a just reason for painful inquiry and 
sorrow. 

While on the Flanders circuit Mr. Lee received an ac- 
count of the conversion of an Indian woman, which he 
recorded in his Journal. It is a singular illustration of 
the truth, that 

" Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, 
Uttered or unexpressed 

and of the Scripture declaration, that God looketh at 
the heart. It is given by Lee as follows : 

" An Indian squaw, who was awakened some years 
past, when there was a great work among the Presbyte- 
rians in this part of the world, concluded that God would 
not hear her because she could not pray in English ; but 
in the depth of her distress she recollected that she could 
say January and February ; and she immediately began 
to pray, 'January, February; January, February,' and 
repeated the words till her soul was happily converted."* 

The decrease in the entire white membership of the 

* Life and Times of the Rev. Jesse Lee. 



402 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

several circuits in New Jersey this year was three hun- 
dred and one, while there was an increase of six in the 
colored membership, making the total decrease two hun- 
dred and ninety-five. 

We turn now from the work to the laborers. 

Jesse Lee is the most distinguished name in the list 
the present year. He was born in Prince George Co., 
Va., on the 12th of March, 1758. His parents were 
moral and respectable, but plain. At an early age he 
was taught the catechism " out of the prayer book." 
These lessons produced a saltuary effect upon him. "In 
a thousand instances," he says, " when I felt an inclina- 
tion to act or speak amiss, I have been stopped by the 
recollection of my catechism, some parts of which I did 
not understand; yet it was good, upon the whole, that I 
learned it." 

His early life was unstained by flagrant offences, " ex- 
cept," he says, "one night, being in company with some 
wicked young people, I uttered some kind of oath for 
which I felt ashamed and sorry all the next day : and 
when alone, I felt that God was displeased with me for 
my bad conduct. I believe I never did anything in my 
youth that the people called wicked. I used, however, 
to indulge bad tempers, and use some vain words." 
When he was about fourteen years of age his father was 
made the subject of renewing grace through the labors 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL TEAR 1788. 



403 



of Rev. Devereux Jarrett, a zealous and useful Episcopal 
clergyman, who rendered important service to early 
Methodism in Virginia. A remark made by his father 
about this time was the means of his conversion. In 
conversing with a pious relative on the subject of experi- 
mental religion, the elder Mr. Lee said that "if a man's 
sins were forgiven him he would know it." That sen- 
tence "took hold," he says, 44 of my mind, and I pon- 
dered it in my heart." He asked himself the question, 
"Are my sins forgiven?" He felt conscious they were 
not. A sense of his guilt and exposure to the retributive 
justice of the Almighty filled his heart with sadness. 
In his distress he cried unto the Lord. " I would fre- 
quently get by myself," he says, " and with many tears 
pray to God to have mercy upon my poor soul and for- 
give my sins. Sometimes in the open fields I would fall 
on my knees, and pray and weep till my heart was ready 
to break. At other times my heart was so hard that I 
could not shed a tear. It would occur to my mind, 
c Your day of grace is past, and God will never forgive 
your sins.' It appeared to me that of all sinners in the 
world I was the greatest; my sins appeared to me greater 
in magnitude and multitude than the sins of any other 
person." 

Thus he continued for about four weeks, "in which 
time," he says, "I never, for an hour, lost sight of my 



404 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

"wretched condition. The cry of my soul was, ' How 
shall I escape the misery of hell?' I cared little about 
the sufferings of this life, if I could but escape eternal 
misery. I read c that some asked and received not, be- 
cause they asked amiss ;' the remembrance of this made 
me, for a season, afraid to use many words in prayer, 
for fear I should pray improperly, and, therefore, ask 
amiss." 

One morning being in deep distress, and fearing, mo- 
mentarily, that he would fall into hell, he cried earnestly 
for mercy and his soul was delivered of its burden, and 
received the peace of God. He felt an indescribable 
pleasure, which lasted about three days, but he did not 
communicate to any one his new and delightful experi- 
ence. " I anxiously wished for some one to talk to me 
on the subject," he says, "but no one did. I then be- 
gan to doubt my conversion and to fear that I was de- 
ceived. I finally concluded that if I were not converted 
I would never rest without the blessing, and began to 
pray to the Lord to show me my lost condition, and let 
me feel my danger as I had previously done ; but, as I 
could not feel the burden of my sins, the enemy of my 
soul suggested to my mind that the Lord had forsaken 
me, and that I had sinned away my conviction, and de- 
ceived my own soul. Thus I was a prey to those doubts 
and perplexities for about six months before I could as- 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1788. 



405 



suredly believe that I was in the favor of God. One 
evening, traveling in company with a religions neighbor, 
he asked me if I were ever converted. I told him I be- 
lieved I had been. He asked me several questions rela- 
tive to the circumstances of the change, which I endeav- 
ored to answer. He then said, 'You are surely con- 
verted.' I was much strengthened by that conversation, 
and so much encouraged as to tell other people, when 
they asked me what the Lord had done for my soul." 

It was not long before his misgivings were entirely 
removed by clearer evidences of the Divine favor, and 
he was enabled to say, "I know in whom I have be- 
lieved." 

Xo Methodist preacher had entered the neighborhood, 
but when, in 1774, a Methodist society was formed, he, 
being then sixteen years of age, united with it, and from 
that time he was an ardent advocate of the doctrines of 
Methodism, and illustrated in his life their excellence 
and power. 

He commenced his ministry in the manner usual in 
those days, by exhorting in prayer-meetings, &c, and 
laboring as he had opportunity for the salvation of souls, 
in which work his heart was deeply enlisted. He did 
not, however, indulge the thought of rising to a more 
prominent position in the Church. But Gocl had evi- 



406 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

dently designed him for more public and extended labors, 
and was now leading him towards his ultimate destiny. 

After he became a local preacher he was drafted into 
the army, but he refused to bear arms though he took his 
place in the military ranks. While detained in the army 
— a period of nearly four months — he did not forget that 
he was a soldier of the cross, and he fought bravely for 
the Lord. 

For more than a year after he was released from the 
army, he zealously proclaimed the word of life in his na- 
tive neighborhood. He was frequently impressed, mean- 
while, with the conviction that he ought to enter the 
itinerancy, but a sense of the responsibility of the sacred 
office led him to hesitate. While the matter was thus 
resting upon his mind, he attended the Conference at 
Ellis's preaching-house, in Virginia, in 1782. The spec- 
tacle of the devoted and self-sacrificing laborers there 
assembled moved his heart. He says, "The union and 
brotherly love which I saw among the preachers, ex- 
ceeded everything I had seen before, and caused me to 
wish that I was worthy to have a place among them. 
When they took leave of each other, I observed that they 
embraced each other in their arms, and wept as though 
they never expected to meet again. Had heathens been 
there, they might have well said, c See how these Chris- 
tians love one another !' By reason of what I saw and 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1788. 



407 



heard during the four days that the Conference sat, I 
found my heart truly humbled in the dust, and my de- 
sires greatly increased to love and serve God more per- 
fectly than I had ever done before. At the close of the 
Conference, Mr. Asbury came to me and asked me if I 
-was billing to take a circuit. I told him that I could 
not well do it, but signified I was at a loss to know what 
was best for me to do. I was afraid of hurting the cause 
which I wished to promote ; for I was very sensible of 
my own weakness. At last he called to some of the 
preachers a little way off, and said, c I am going to en- 
list brother Lee.' One of them replied, ' What bounty 
do you give V He answered, ' Grace here and glory 
hereafter will be given if he is faithful.' Some of the 
preachers then talked to me, and persuaded me to go, 
but I trembled at the thought, and shuddered at the 
cross, and did not at that time consent." 

It was not long, however, before he entered upon the 
arduous and responsible work to which his life was to be 
consecrated. "Before the end of the year," says Rev. 
A. Stevens, in his Memorials of Methodism, "he was on 
his way, with a colleague, to North Carolina, to form a 
new and extensive circuit. The next year he was ap- 
pointed to labor regularly in that State, and being now 
fully in the sphere of his duty, he was largely blest with 
the comforts of the Divine favor, and went through the 



408 MEMORIALS OE METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

extensive rounds of his -circuit 'like a flame of fire.* 
His word was accompanied with the authority and power 
of the Holy Ghost. Stout hearted men were smitten 
down under it, large congregations were often melted 
into tears by irrepressible emotions, and his eloquent 
voice was not unfrequently lost amidst the sobs and 
ejaculations of his audience. Often, his own deep sym- 
pathies, while in the pulpit, could find relief only in 
tears." 

After Mr. Lee left Flanders circuit he offered himself 
for New England, and was appointed to that field, where 
he succeeded in laying the foundation of Methodism. 
The Rev. Thomas Ware speaks of Mr. Lee in this con- 
nection, in an article in the Christian Advocate and 
Journal, as follows : — " Jesse Lee, styled, by some, the 
Apostle of New England, was persuaded Methodism 
could live where men can breathe. He therefore in 
1789 offered himself a missionary for the land of the 
Pilgrims. 

"For this mission Mr. Lee was singularly qualified. 
He possessed colloquial powers fascinating in a high de- 
gree to the people of the East. His readiness at repartee 
delighted his friends, and taught those who might wish 
to be witty with him it was safest to be civil. 

" He knew he would have to contend with a learned 
clergy, venerable for their outward deportment, and with 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAH 1788. 409 

a shrewd adventurous people who would not hesitate to 
tell him to his face he preached damnable heresies. At 
the same time he knew such was their thirst for know- 
ledge, and their independence of spirit, that they would 
hear for themselves ; and the truth that had made him 
free, and that God had commissioned him to preach with 
a power sinners could not resist, he felt assured, would 
cut its way and open in that land a wide field of action. 
He was, in a word, a man of courage. He feared not 
the face of man, and was no ordinary preacher. He 
preached with the greatest ease of any man I have 
known, and was, I think, the best every day preacher 
in the Methodist connection. He states in his history 
that on the 17th of June, 1789, he visited Xorwalk, and 
not being able to obtain a house to preach in, he took 
his stand in the street. In 1793, the district of which I 
had charge took in a part of Connecticut, and I found 
the people full of anecdotes of elder Lee. 

"'When, 5 said an inhabitant of Xorwalk, ' he stood 
up in the open air and began to sing, I knew not 
what to make of it. I, however, drew near to listen, 
and thought the prayer was the best I had ever heard, 
but rather short. He then read his text, and began in 
sententious sentences, brought home to every heart, and 
compelled, I thought, all who were present to say to him- 
self, I am glad I am here. All the time the people were 



410 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM EST NEW JERSEY. 

gathering, he continued this mode of address, in which 
time he held up to our view such a variety of beautiful 
images that I began to think he must have been at infi- 
nite pains to crowd so many pretty things into his 
memory. But when he entered upon the subject matter 
of his text, it was in such a tone of voice, and in an 
easy, natural flow of thought and expression, that I soon 
began to weep, as did many ; and when he was done we 
conferred together, and our conclusion was, that such a 
man had not visited New England since the days of 
Whitefield. I heard him again, and thought I could 
follow him to the ends of the earth.' " 

At the General Conference held in Baltimore in the 
year 1800, Mr. Lee came within one vote of being 
elected a bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
On the first ballot the votes were scattering, and there 
was no election. On the second ballot the tellers re- 
ported a tie between Mr Lee and Richard Whatcoat. 
Had the former received only one more vote at this bal- 
loting he would have been bishop, but on the third ballot 
Mr. Whatcoat "was declared to be duly elected by a 
majority of four votes." 

Mr. Lee's public labors extended over most of the 
Union. In 1783 he traveled Caswell circuit, 1ST. C. ; 
1784, Salisbury: 1785, Caroline, Md. ; 1786, Kent; 
1787, Baltimore; 1788, Flanders; 1789, Stamford, Ct.; 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1788. 



411 



1790-1-2, elder in Connecticut ; 1793, province of 
Maine and Lynn; 1794-5-6, Presiding Elder in New 
England. In 1797-8-9, lie traveled with Bishop As- 
bury. In 1800 he was stationed in the city of New 
York; 1801-2-3, Norfolk district; 1804, Petersburg, 
Va. ; 1805, Mecklenburg ; 1806, Amelia; 1807, Sparta; 
1808, Cumberland; 1809, Brunswick; 1810, Meherrin 
district; 1811, Amelia; 1812, Richmond; 1813, Bruns- 
wick ; 1814, Cumberland and Manchester ; 1815, Fred- 
ericksburg; 1816, Annapolis. During this year he 
ceased "to work and live." 

The Rev. and venerated Henry Boehm of the Newark 
Conference, was privileged to be with him in his last 
hours. He thus describes the good man's end : — 

" Through the first part of his illness his mind was 
much weighed down, so that he spake but little. On 
Tuesday night, September 10th, he broke out in ecsta- 
sies of joy. Also on Wednesday, 11th, about nine 
o'clock, A.M., he delivered himself in words like these : 
'Glory! glory! glory! Hallelujah! Jesus reigns.' On 
the same evening he spoke nearly twenty minutes, de- 
liberately and distinctly ; among other things he directed 
me to write to his brother Ned, and let him know he 
died happy in the Lord. 

" i Give my respects to Bishop M'Kendree,' said he, 
< and tell him that I die in love with all the preachers ; 



412 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

that I love him, and that he lives in my heart/ Then 
he took his leave of all present, six or seven in number, 
and requested us to pray. This solemn night will never 
be forgotten by me. After this he spake but little. 
Thursday, the 12th, in the early part of the day, he lost 
his speech, but appeared to retain his reason. Thus he 
continued to linger till the same evening, about half 
past seven o'clock, when, without a sigh or groan, he 
expired, with his eyes seemingly fixed on the prize." * 

Aaron Hutchinson was born at Milford, Mercer 
county, N. J. the 17th of May 1767. He was converted 
to God about the year 1786, and though the youngest 
of the four brothers who became preachers, he was the 
first to enter the itinerant field. " When converted to 
God," says Rev. H. B. Beegle, to whom I am indebted 
for the following notice of him — " When converted to 
God he gave evidence of such gifts, and promise of so 
much usefulness to the Church, that brother M'Claskey 
immediately took him along with him around the circuit 
requiring him to exercise his gifts in prayer and exhor- 
tation. When they came came back to Joseph Hutchin- 
son's, brother M'Claskey said he must preach there. It 
was a great cross to the youthful soldier. But a few 
months since he was converted ; and no opportunities for 
study, for they had been on the wing from the time they 

* Minutes. 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1788. 413 

left until they returned. And then to open his commis- 
sion among his own kindred too. But he lifted his cross 
and stood up, and preached from Isa. ii. 3. They were 
all astonished at the marvelous manner in which God 
assisted the stripling. His mother, especially, wept pro- 
fusely through the whole service. He was immediately 
called out as a supply on some of the large circuits. 
"Whether he labored with M'Claskey and Cooper on 
6 East Jersey' or went elsewhere we know not, but it is 
settled that he labored somewhere during most of the 
year 1T86. At the Conference of 1787 he was admitted 
as a traveling preacher, and appointed to Dover, Del. ; 
in 1788 and '89 he was on Flanders circuit; in 1790 he 
was appointed to Trenton, where he ended his labors. 

" The General Minutes, in noting his death, contain an 
estimate of him by his brethren of the Conference. 
They say he was i a man of clear understanding ; gospel 
simplicity; blameless in his life; acceptable as a preacher; 
fruitful in his labors, which ended in the short space of 
four years. He was patient, resigned, and confident in 
his last moments.' 

M He was married some time during his ministry to a 

lady by the name of Jaques. He frequently tried his 

hand at poetry. On meeting with Mrs. Hannah Salter, 

a daughter of Aaron Hutchinson, she informed me of 

her father's poetic tendencies, and of the many effusions 
26 



414 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

of his she had stored away. She was away from home 
at the time, but with one she was so familiar that she 
could repeat it, and as she did so I penned it as follows : 

THE GOOD SAM ABIT AN. 
The road that leads to J ericho, 
That bloody way that sinners go : 
They fall among the thieves of hell, 
Eternally with them to dwell. 
I never shall forget the day 
When on that road I bleeding lay ; 
Was stript, and wounded — left half dead, 
And not a friend to raise my head. 
A priest came there, but he passed by ; 
He never stopped to hear my cry : 
A Levite looked upon my wound 
But no relief from him I found. 
Samaritans I did despise, 
Yet one drew near and heard my cries ; 
He gently raised me from the ground, 
Poured oil and wine into my wound. 
He kindly took me to an Inn, 
A place where I had never been ; 
He watched, and fed, and clothed me there — 
Made me the object of his care. 
And when my friend departed thence 
He called the host and gave two pence ; 
Saying, u If more on him he spent, 
I will repay ; it's only lent." 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1788. 415 



I will repay thee when I come 
To take my ransomed people home, 
Where sickness, sorrow, death, nor pain 
Shall nes-er trouble them again. 
What rapturous awe will fill my soul 
When I see Him who made me whole ; 
Throughout eternal, boundless days 
This good Samaritan I'll praise ! 

"Brother Hutchinson departed this life at Milford, 
July 30, 1791, and his remains lie in the old burial 
ground there." 

John Lee was a brother of Jesse, and was admitted 
on trial the present year and appointed to Flanders cir- 
cuit. The ensuing year he was appointed to Long 
Island with Wm. Phoebus. In 1790 he went to New 
England and labored on the New Haven circuit. He 
located in 1791 in consequence of ill health. 

He was but about eighteen years of age when he 
traveled Flanders circuit, but he was devoted and useful. 
He was emphatically a man of prayer, u rising, often, in 
the midst of wintry nights, while all others around were 
wrapped in sleep, and struggling, like Jacob, in suppli- 
cations for himself, the Church, and the world." The 
Eev. Enoch Mudge gave the following sketch of Mr. 
Lee, which we extract from Stevens's Memorials of 
Methodism in New England : " He was a lively, ani- 



416 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

mated preacher, had a strong, clear, musical voice, and 
was affectionate in his address. As he had drunk deep 
of the cup of bitterness, of wormwood and gall, for his 
own sins, he had a sympathizing heart for those who 
were in distress. He was the instrument, in Grod's hand, 
of ministering the balm of comfort to my sin-sick soul. 
He was emphatically a son of consolation. He had a 
pleasant and profitable gift of exhortation, which he 
often improved after his brother Jesse and others had 
preached. He had the happy faculty of bringing re- 
ligious truth home to the minds and hearts of his hearers, 
in an easy, familiar way, and of carrying their feelings 
with him into the pleasant paths of practical piety. He 
was of a consumptive habit, frequently spitting blood, 
which was increased by often speaking in public." 

The circumstances of Mr. Lee's death were quite re- 
markable. In the summer of 1801 he left his home in 
Petersburg, Va., and took a tour through the mountainous 
parts of the State with the view of recruiting his feeble 
health. During this journey his mind was in a very de- 
vout frame, and in one of his letters he wrote, "I thank 
God that I delight in resigning myself to him, and wish 
with all my heart 

1 His pleasure to fulfill/ 
I long to be like him, and to suffer with him, that I may 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR, 1788. 417 

reign with him." Late in the day on which he died he 
stopped at the residence of a pious widow in Wilkes 
county, North Carolina, and he had been there but a 
short time when he informed the family that he expected 
to die during the night. They were greatly surprised 
at this, as he was then walking about the room. He 
then went out to his servant, who was feeding the horses, 
and requested him to take good care of them as he 
should never see them fed again. He asked his servant 
to sit down beside him on a log, when he told him that 
the ulcer on his lungs had broke, and he should die that 
night. He placed some valuable papers in his hands 
directing him what to do with them ; he also instructed 
him about getting home, and continued his conversation 
with the utmost composure until nearly dark, when he 
arose and walked to the house. He desired some water, 
with which he bathed his feet, and remarked, "I am 
sure I am about to die." He inquired of some of the 
family if they could sing, and on being answered, "Not 
well," he asked if any of them would engage in prayer. 
No response being given, he kneeled down and prayed 
aloud for some time, requesting the Lord to give him pa- 
tience and take him to heaven. He rose and said to his 
servant, " Give my love to everybody, and tell my friends 
not to mourn or grieve after me, for I am happy and 
sure of heaven." After a time he again bowed in 



418 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

prayer, then arose, walked about and told the family he 
was then about to die. He knelt the third time and 
prayed until his servant, perceiving that his" voice was 
failing, lifted him up and placed him on a chair. Being 
in a profuse sweat, he requested his servant to wipe his 
face, which he did, and then took him in his arms and 
laid him on a bed. He stretched himself, and then 
"died in Jesus without a struggle or a groan." 

Jethro Johnson was appointed to four different cir- 
cuits in New Jersey during his itinerancy, — Trenton, 
Salem, Elizabethtown, and Flanders. He entered the 
traveling connection in 1788, and withdrew in 1794. 

John Merrick was received on trial in 1786, and ap- 
pointed to Somerset, Md. ; 1787, Kent ; 1788, Trenton ; 
1789, New York, for four months ; 1790, Burlington. 
In 1791 he was elder of the New Jersey district. In 
1792 his district did not extend any farther than the 
Trenton circuit in Jersey, but embraced the city of New 
York. In 1794 New York appears on another district, 
and Mr. Merrick's district embraced only Freehold, 
Salem, Bethel, Trenton, and Burlington, — Staten Island, 
Elizabethtown, and Flanders being in the same district 
as New York. In 1794 he remained on the same dis- 
trict. In 1795 his district remained the same, so far as 
New Jersey was concerned, but was extended from Wil- 
mington in the south to Canada in the north, embrac- 



THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 1788. 419 

ing 'Wilmington, Chester, Bristol, Philadelphia, Xiagara, 
Bay Quinte, and Oswegotchie. It does not seem possible 
that one man should be able to perform the labor which 
such a district would require. We cannot learn his ap- 
pointment for 1796. In 1797 he is returned among the 
located. Mr. Merrick was, it is said, a superior preacher, 
and a man much beloved by those who knew him. As 
an evidence of the esteem in which he was held, many 
families named children after him. 

One day, as he was riding along the road somewhere 
in "West Jersey, he was accosted by an old Friend in the 
following manner: — " Is thee not a public speaker?" 

He replied he was a person who " endeavored to in- 
struct people when he had an opportunity." 

"Is thee not a Methodist?" 

" I belong to that denomination." 

"Well, I have heard the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, 
Baptists, and several others, but I never heard any like 
the Methodists." 

" Why so ? In what do they differ from others ?" 

"Why they get right into the heart, and there they 
stick until they tear it all to pieces." 

There were two John Coopers in the work this year, 
one of whom appears in the ranks for the first time. 
We presume it was he that was appointed to Salem cir- 
cuit this year. He went to Nova Scotia and finally located. 



420 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

THE WORK AND THE LABORERS IN 1789. 

The Conference for the district of New Jersey was 
held at Trenton, beginning on Saturday, May 23, 
1789. " It was opened," says Asbury, " in great peace. 
We labored for a manifestation of the Lord's power, and 
it was not altogether in vain." The session appears to 
have been remarkably brief, as Asbury speaks of riding 
to Elizabethtown through a heavy rain on Monday, and 
the ensuing day he arrived at New York. Annual Con- 
ferences in those days, however, had fewer members and 
far less business to transact than now. 

At this Conference Benjamin Abbott, among others, 
was admitted on trial. By his earnest and untiring la- 
bors for fifteen years as a local preacher, he had greatly 
promoted the work of God in West Jersey, and made an 
impression upon the rising Methodism of that portion of 
the State which can never be effaced. He now felt that 
Providence directed him to a more extended sphere of la- 



THE WORK AND THE LABORERS IX 1T89. 421 

bor, and though well advanced in life he heroically 
entered upon the work of a regular itinerant preacher in 
Dutchess circuit, iS~. Y., and continued to toil in the va- 
rious fields assigned him until his vigorous constitution 
sunk beneath the pressure of years and labor, and his 
mighty spirit, radiant in the lustre of heavenly virtues, 
ascended triumphantly to its immortal rest. The de- 
lineation of his noble character will fail within the scope 
of a subsequent volume should it ever be prepared. 

The appointments for the ensuing year were as fol- 
lows : — 

James 0. Cromwell. Presiding Ulder. Salem : Simon 
Pile, Jethro Johnson, Sylvester Hutchinson. Trenton: 
Joseph Cromwell, Richard Swain. Burlington ; John 
M'Claskey, "William Jackson. Flanders ; Aaron Hutch- 
inson, Daniel Combs. Elizabethtown ; John Merrick, 
John Cooper. 

On the 26th of June Asbury appears in the northern 
end of the State, " and the power of God," he says, 
" came down among the people at B's, and there was a 
great melting. After meeting we rode through the heat 
fifteen miles to Pepper Cotton." The next day he rode 
to the Stone Church, and Mr. (afterward Bishop) What- 
coat, who accompanied him in this journey, preached for 
him there. This seems to have been a Church in which 
the Methodists preached by sufferance, as he says, " The 



422 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

Methodists ought to preach only in their own houses ; I 
have done with the houses of other people." "When I 
see the stupidity of the people/' he continues, "and the 
contentiousness of their spirit, 1 pity and grieve over 
them. I have hard labor in traveling amongst the rocks 
and hills." On Sabbath he "spoke a few words at 
Sweezey's, to insensible people," and then drove to Ax- 
ford's, where he enjoyed life and liberty among his 
hearers. On Monday Mr. Whatcoat preached at C.'s, 
"while some of the audience slept." Thence they went 
to Col. M'Cullough's, where Asbury was annoyed by 
Adam Cloud, who had been disowned by the Conference. 
" He had," says Asbury, "in some instances fallen short 
of his quarterage during his ministry, and now insisted 
on my paying him his deficiencies : I did not conceive 
that in justice or conscience this was required of me ; 
nevertheless, to get rid of him, I gave him £14." 

Though there was a declension in the membership of 
295 during the past year, the work greatly prospered in 
the several circuits in the State this year, and when the 
preachers went to Conference at the end of the year 
they had very encouraging reports to bear from their 
fields of labor. Salem circuit was favored with wonder- 
ful effusions of the Spirit, and within the bounds of the 
present county of Salem hundreds were converted to 
God. 



THE WORK AND THE LABORERS IN 1789. 423 



Sylvester Hutchinson, who was one of the preachers 
on this circuit the present year, was one day made the 
object of sport by two young women, in the house where 
he was temporarily lodging. " They began to banter 
him upon his size and insignificant appearance ; when, 
suddenly lifting his head from its reclining posture, he 
repeated in slow, solemn tones, a verse of a hymn : — 

'My thoughts on awful subjects roll : 
Damnation and the dead ; 
What horrors seize a guilty soul 
Upon a dying bed !' 

" The time, the place, the words, and manner of re- 
citation, all combined to produce pungent and lasting 
conviction ; the young women both immediately fled 
from the room, weeping, and were without rest or peace 
until their hearts were given to the Lord. Both ladies, 
for such they were, joined the then 4 poor, despised' 
Methodists. 

" On a certain day a man on horseback overtook the 
young preacher riding along the road, and, no doubt, 
thought to have some fun. 

" 6 How do you do ? Which way are you traveling V 
" 4 1 do the Lord's work ; you do the devil's. I am 
on the way to heaven ; you are going to hell, where fire- 
and brimstone are the fuel, and the smoke of torment 
ascendeth for ever and ever.' 



424 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

"The alarmed man put spurs to his horse and rode 
away, but was found at the next meeting, weeping among 
the seekers of religion. He became an eminent servant 
of God."* 

During this year Mr. Hutchinson received an invita- 
tion from Rev. Ethan Osborne, the pastor of the Pres- 
byterian Church in Fairfield, Cumberland county, to oc- 
cupy his pulpit when he came to preach in Fairfield, 
which invitation was accepted, and, as the result num- 
bers were added to the Church. But they were not 
added to the Methodist Church. They became members 
of Mr. Osborne's Church, and perceiving this Mr. 
Hutchinson declined preaching there any more, but 
henceforth confined his labors to his legitimate sphere as 
a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

There was also, Asbury informs us, " a most genuine 
work" in Flanders, Trenton, Burlington, and Bethel cir- 
cuits. At the Conference of 1790, Salem reported 933 
white members and 21 colored ; Burlington, 353 white 
and 12 colored ; Trenton, 429 white and 33 colored ; 
Elizabethtown, 237 white and 16 colored; Flanders, 
322 white and 7 colored. The increase this year of 
white members was 570, and of colored members 42, 
making the total increase 612. The entire membership, 

* Kaybold's Methodism in West Jersey. 



THE WORK AND THE LABORERS IX 1T89. 425 



white and colored, in the five circuits in Xew Jersey at 
the close of the present ecclesiastical year was 2363. 

The most distinguished name in the ministry the pre- 
sent year is that of Sylvester Hutchinson. He was 
the third of four brothers, all of whom, as we have seen, 
became preachers, and three of them itinerants. Syl- 
vester was born at Milford, Mercer Co. X. J., April 20, 
1765. The Rev. H. B. Beegle of the New Jersey Con- 
ference, in a sketch of him, which he kindly furnished 
the writer, the material for which he derived mainly from 
his surviving widow and son, Mr. Daniel P. Hutchinson, 
of Hightstown, X. J., says: 

" Of his early life but little is known beyond the fact 
that he was quite correct in his habits, and was what 
would be called a steady and moral young man. He 
was not regarded in his early days as giving as much 
promise as his brothers. He was by no means as for- 
ward as Aaron ; and Thomas Baldwin, his old school 
teacher, now a resident of Cranberry, Middlesex county, 
once asked him why he did not learn as fast as his 
brother Aaron. He replied, 'Because they keep me at 
home to work and send Aaron to school.' " 

He was awakened about the year 1786. "But he was 
a long time," continues Mr. Beegle, "in obtaining a sat- 
isfactory evidence of his acceptance with God. He wept 
and prayed, read the Scriptures, sought advice from 



426 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

Christians, and used all the means likely to advance his 
soul's interests. The Baptist minister at Hightstown, 
learning of his seriousness, visited him at his father's 
house, and tried to persuade him to join their communion 
and become a preacher among them. He expressed a 
decided preference for the Methodists, and said ' If the 
Methodists are not the people of God, I think he has no 
people upon earth.' While he was under exercise of mind, 
he was in the habit of reading the Bible and praying 
much every day all alone in his bed room. One day, 
while he was meditating upon his condition, a figure ap- 
peared at the foot of his bed which he believed to be the 
figure of Christ. This at once satisfied him and he no 
more doubted. He w T ent on his way rejoicing. He fully 
expected when he reached heaven he should see and 
know the same figure which appeared to him on earth. 

" He entered the ministry and joined the Conference 
in 1789, and was appointed to Salem circuit. In 1790 
he was appointed to Chester ; 1791, to Fell's point ; 
1792, at Wilmington; 1793-4, Croton; 1795, Long 
Island; and from 1796 to 1800 he was Presiding Elder. 
But we cannot follow him through all his ministerial life. 
Dr. Clarke, in his Life and Times of Heckling, gives us a 
very interesting description of this eminent man and his 
labors. He says : ' The district was of gigantic propor- 
tions and the Presiding Eldership no sinecure in those 



THE WORK AND THE LABORERS EN 1789. 427 

days. It embraced New York city, the whole of Long 
Island, and extended northward, embracing the whole 
territory, having the Connecticut river on the east and 
Hudson river and Lake Champlain on the west, and 
stretching far into Canada. It embraced nearly the 
whole territory now included in three Annual Confer- 
ences. This immense district was then traveled by Syl- 
vester Hutchinson. He was a man of burning zeal and 
of indomitable energy. Mounted upon his favorite horse, 
he would ride through the entire extent of his district 
once each three months, visiting each circuit, and inva- 
riably filling all his appointments. His voice rung like 
a trumpet's blast ; and, with words of fire, and in power- 
ful demonstration of the Spirit, he preached Christ 
Jesus.' 

" His travels were indeed extensive, and his labors 
herculean. He often stated to his son and wife (now 
widow) that he rode from fifty to sixty miles per day, and 
preached from one to three times per day, except Satur- 
day, when he seldom preached more than once. His al- 
lowance, he said, was thirty dollars per annum, and often 
he did not get that. He was not accustomed to think 
what he wanted,, but what he could not possibly do with- 
out. At one time he started for home, a distance of some 
three hundred miles. He had but little money and that 
was soon gone. Riding along he saw a house a short 



428 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

distance from the road, and concluded to ride up and 
seek for entertainment for the night. The gentleman 
of the house was not at home, but he was assured by the 
good lady that he would be soon, and was invited to stay. 
The gentleman proved to be a member of the legislature, 
and a very agreeable and benevolent man, for the next 
morning when he left he voluntarily placed in his hands 
money enough to carry him home. Thus God provided, 
sometimes, for his faithful and needy servants. 

"In 1806 his name appears on the Minutes in the list 
of those located. It is impossible to get all the facts at 
this late day which would give a true history of this lo- 
cation. The widow and son, however, are very distinct 
in their recollection of having heard Sylvester say over 
and over again that Mr. Asbury was to blame for his 
leaving the Church. He said that he was in the good 
graces of Mr. Asbury until the difficulty occurred about 
his marriage. He was to marry a young lady belonging 
to an influential family, and the friends, especially one 
brother, made such desperate opposition that it was 
broken off on the day the wedding was to have taken 
place. That Mr. Asbury reprimanded him severely for 
not marrying the girl at all hazards, as he was engaged 
to her ; that both of them being of good metal they had 
a warm time ; and that Sylvester came home on a visit, 
and that Mr. Asbury had his name left off the Minutes 



THE WORK AND THE LABORERS IN 1789. 429 



of the Conference. There would seem to be truth in 
this from the fact that in the year 1804 his name appears 
in the list of elders, but he has no appointment given 
him ; while in 1805 his name is not to be found in the 
Minutes anywhere. But . in 1806 he is set down as lo- 
cated. He was deeply moved at the omission of his 
name from the Minutes, he says, without the consent of 
the Conference too, and he could not get over it." 

We must here interrupt the flow of brother Beegle's 
graceful narrative to record a fact which illustrates this 
matter more fully. It is given upon the authority of 
Mr. Daniel P. Hutchinson. He says : " Finding, on his 
return from his visit home, that his name was dropped 
from the Minutes, he remonstrated with Mr. Asbury for 
having done it, and offered to continue in the ministry. 
Mr. Asbury finally offered him a circuit, but it was one 
in which he was not acceptable to the people. There 
was also another preacher who was not very acceptable 
where he had been sent, and Mr. H. and he proposed to 
Mr. A. that they should be exchanged ; but this was re- 
fused, and turning to Mr. H. he said, 6 Go there or go 
home,' to which Mr. H. answered, ' Then I must go 
home,' and thus ended his connection with the M. E. 
Church." 

He joined the Methodist Protestant Church some 

time afterward, and preached more or less among them 
27 



430 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

for several years. The last station he filled was Ken- 
sington, Philadelphia. " Before he died," continues Mr. 
Beegle, " his wife asked him if he had not better come 
back to the old Church. He expressed himself perfectly 
willing, but his death occurring soon after, it was never 
consumated. He felt an ardent attachment to the min- 
isters of the M. E. Church, and felt at home in their so- 
ciety, and delighted to entertain them. In view of what 
he had suffered for the Church, and his remarkable la- 
bors in her behalf, we can account readily for this, even 
while he belonged to another branch of the Methodist 
family. 

" Brother "Wakeley, in his 'Lost Chapters/ gives some 
account of Sylvester Hutchinson, but has fallen into 
some errors and also casts a dark reflection upon him. 
He was not born in Burlington county as he asserts, but 
in Mercer county, and he never was engaged in a land 
agency in the West as he says. He also says, page 532, 
that 4 His history after his location shows the exceeding 
danger of ministers leaving their legitimate calling,' &c. 
Now one would infer from this that he lost his piety, be- 
came immoral, or suffered some terrible calamity, which 
would make him an example of warning to others. But 
if anything more is intended than the fact that he joined 
another branch of the Methodist family (for which he 
thought he had good reason) it is utterly unfounded. 



THE WORK AND THE LABORERS IX 1789. 431 



He was the same in spirit from the first sermon he 
preached until the last. Many will testify to that. 

"About the last time the son heard his father speak 
in love-feast or class meeting, which was a short time be- 
fore his death, he said, £ I feel that my work is done. I 
am ready to go but not impatient to depart ; willing to 
wait till the Master calls.' " 

^Ye have seen that he abounded in labors and endured 
his full share of hardships in the itinerancy. At one 
time, his son informs us, while he was traveling in the 
Xorth he was attacked with the winter fever, but he per- 
sisted in traveling and rode all day, taking ten grains of 
calomel every two hours, until he had swallowed eighty 
grains. At another time he took calomel and rode all 
day in the rain. He could not enjoy a day's rest, for if 
he stopped he would fall so far behind his appointments 
that he could not overtake them. He was accustomed 
to rise at four o'clock and ride twenty miles before eating 
breakfast, sometimes arriving at his place of breakfast 
before the people had risen from their beds. He trav- 
eled through forests, in storms, over mountains, and 
across rivers, sometimes on snow drifts from 20 to 30 
feet deep, at other times almost buried in them. 

Mr. Hutchinson was married on the 10th of May, 
1808, to a very estimable lady by the name of Phebe 
Phillips, who still survives him. For two years previous 



432 MEMORIALS OF METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

to his death he was afflicted with disease of the heart. 
The last day of his life he was as well as usual, and after 
retiring for the night, Mrs. H. supposed him going into 
a sound sleep, but soon discovered it was death. He 
died Nov. 11th, 1840, and his remains lie in the cemetery 
of the Borough of Hightstown, whither they were re- 
moved a few years since by a devoted son. The follow- 
ing is the inscription upon his tombstone : 

SACRED 

TO THE 

HUmcrg of 
Rev. SYLVESTER HUTCHINSON, 

WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE 
Nov. 11, 1840, 

AGED 75 YEARS 
AND SIX MOS. 

From infancy to hoary hairs 
He all my griefs and burdens bears ; 
Supports me in his arms of love, 
And hides my ransomed life above. 

"The family from whom these Hutchinsons sprung is 
a very remarkable one for longevity. Ann Hutchinson, 
"wife of William Hutchinson, and grandmother of the 
four brothers who were ministers, has this remarkable 
inscription on her headstone : 

" ' Sacred to the memory of Ann Hutchinson, relict of 
Win. Hutchinson, Esq., departed this life, Jan 4, 1801. 



THE WORK AND THE LABORERS IN 1789. 433 

Aged 101 years 9 months and seven days. She was 
mother of 13 children, and grandmother, and great- 
grandmother, and great-great-grandmother of 375 per- 
sons.' 

" She retained her faculties to the last, and could see 
to thread a needle, and read without spectacles, when in 
her 101st year."* 

Daniel Co:>ibs entered the traveling connection in 
1787, but was never received into full connection in the 
Conference. 

William Jackson entered the traveling connection 
in 1789, and was appointed to Burlington. In 1790 he 
was sent to Bethel circuit ; we do not learn his appoint- 
ment for 1791 ; in 1792 he located. 

Richard Swain was a native of New Jersey, and en- 
tered the itinerant ministry in 1789. He traveled the 
following circuits respectively: 1789, Trenton; 1790- 
91, Flanders; 1792, Micldletown, Connecticut; 1793, 
New London ; 1794, Salem, New Jersey ; 1795, Bur- 
lington ; 1796, Freehold ; 1797, Trenton ; 1798, Free- 
hold; 1799-1800, Salem; 1801, Bethel; 1802, Cape 
May; 1803, Salem. From 1804 to 1808 he was a 
supernumerary. On the 17th of January of the latter 
year he died "in confident peace, triumphant faith, and 
smiles of a present God." 

* Communication from Eev. H. B. Becgle. 



434 MEMORIALS OE METHODISM IN NEW JERSEY. 

He was endowed by nature with, quick and solid parts, 
and sometimes gave evidence of possessing wit, which 
gleamed out pleasantly in his preaching and conversa- 
tion. He maintained an unexceptionable character as a- 
minister, and his labors were productive of good. " He 
traveled," say his brethren, "in the extreme parts of 
the work before things were made ready to his hands, 
and bore a part of the burden and heat of the day. 

" We trust that he was made perfect through suffering, 
and triumphant in death. And possibly it requires 
more faith and fortitude to wear out in a confirmed af- 
fliction, and a state of dependence, than to go through 
the most extreme labor and sufferings in the field of ac- 
tion. It must be exceedingly painful for a person ac- 
customed to extensive traveling to be bound and fettered 
by affliction, as a prisoner of Divine Providence ; and, 
in a great degree, cut off from the service of God, his 
worship, and ail Christian fellowship ; not only as a 
minister, but as a member of society. Thus some souls 
are tried in the furnace of affliction. Deep calleth unto 
deep ! The raging billows go over them : but they will 
soon reach the peaceful shore; gain their haven, the rest 
of the weary and afflicted, the palace of angels and God, 
where, with new powers, they will see the rising glory, 
and sing forever the praise of Jesus, their Lord ! 



THE "WORK AND THE LABORERS IN 1789, 435 

" Oh ! what are all my sufferings here, 
If, Lord, thou count me meet 
With that enraptured host t' appear, 
-And worship at thy feet ! r * 

Kind and patient reader, my task is done. May it be 
fraught with as much blessing to thee as it has been with 
toil, and care, and pleasure to me. May the examples 
of Christian fidelity and zeal, and of ministerial heroism, 
herein so imperfectly portrayed, incite thee to an intenser 
devotion, and to more abundant and successful labors 
for God and humanity; and then shall my labor not be in 
vain. 

* Minutes, 1808. 



In Preparation, and to appear from the Press of Perkinpine & Higgins, 
No. 56 North Fourth Street, Philadelphia. 



JOHN ALBERT BENGEL'S 



GNOMON 

OP 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

POINTING OUT 

FROM THE NATURAL FORCE 

OF THB 

WORDS, THE SIMPLICITY, DEPTH, HARMONY, 

AND 

SAVING POWER of its DIVINE THOUGHTS. 



A NEW TRANSLATION 

BY 

CHARLTON T. LEWIS, A. M. 

Prof, of Pure Matlwnatics in Tray University. 



In two Vols. 8vo. of at least 800 pages each. Price $5 00. Vol. I. will 
be ready in June, 1880. Vol. II. in a few months thereafter. 



The following are but a few of many commendatory opi- 
nions of the original work 

" I once designed to write down barely what occurred to 
my own mind, consulting none but the inspired writers. But 
no sooner was I acquainted with that great light of the Chris- 
tian world, lately gone to his reward, Bengelitjs, than I en- 
tirely changed my design, being thoroughly convinced it 
might be of more service to the cause of religion, were I 
barely to translate his Gnomon Novi Testamenti, than to 
write many volumes upon it." — John Wesley, Explanatory 
Notes, p. 4, Preface. 

" The persons whose concurrence I should have most highly 
prized are precisely those in whom the exposition of Bengel, 
to which also I owe more than to any other for the explana- 
tion of particular passages, has taken deepest root; insomuch 
that an attack on it, which has made the Revelation dear and 
precious to them, will scarcely be regarded by them in any 
other light than as an attack on the Revelation itself."- — 
II engste n berg, Revelation, Preface. 

" Bengel, in one of the pregnant notes in his invaluable 
Gnomon — a work which manifests the most intimate and 
profoundest knowledge of Scripture, and which, if we exa- 
mine it with care, will often be found to condense more mat- 
ter into a line, than can be extracted from pages of other 
writers, says," &c. * * * " In this microscopic nicety of ob- 
servation, which, as we have seen, will often detect important 
fibres of thought, no commentator that I know comes near 
Bengel." — Archdeacon Hare, Mission of the Comforter, 
vol. ii. p. 403. 

" Bengel was endowed with a remarkable depth of insight 
and breadth of mental view, together with a marvelous con- 
ciseness and felicity of expression. He makes every word 
of the Bible utter some truth you never thought was in it, 
and leaves you wondering why you had not seen it before. 
Under the touch of his magic pen, even the genealogical 
tables of the Evangelists, which we have been accustomed to 
pass by as dry and marrowless bones, are set before us full 
of fatness."- — Methodist Quarterly Review, 1859, p. 665, 

The Publishers have no doubt, that all lovers of choice re- 
ligious and theological literature will appreciate the work, the 
mechanical execution of which they promise shall be in the 
best style. Early orders are solicited. 



METHODIST BOOK STOEE 

AND 

$ nnban School §fj?osito.qr. 



PEEKINPINE & HIGGINS, 

No. 56 North Fourth St., Philadelphia. 

Have constantly on hand the Publications of the 

METHODIST BOOK CONCERN 

in larsre quantities, which they offer wholesale and retail at 
Xew York prices ; together with an extensive collection of 

THEOLOGICAL, HISTORICAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND MISCELLA- 
NEOUS BOOKS. 

SABBATH-SCHOOL LIBRARIES, REWARDS, 
AND REQUISITES ! 

They would respectfully call attention to their large, varied, 
and select assortment of 

BOOKS, CERTIFICATES, CARDS, PICTURES, ETC, 

calculated to make the Sabbath-school attractive and inte- 
resting. 

THE MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CHARACTER, OP EVERY BOOK 
IS GUARANTEED, 

their miscellaneous selections being made with great care, and 
with special reference to adaptation to Methodist schools. 

With hearty thanks to their numerous regular customers 
for past favors, they trust by careful and prompt attention, to 
merit the continuance of their patronage. Sabbath-school 
Committees and Superintendents will find it to their interest to 
call and examine for themselves, before purchasing elsewhere. 



A BOOK FOR EVERY CHRISTIAN!!! 



REMARKABLE PROVIDENCES, 

ILLUSTRATING THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT, 

Collected and arranged by Rev. S. Higgins 
and Rev. W. H. Bkisbane. With an In- 
troductory Essay on Providence, by Rev. 
Jos. Castle, d.d. 12mo., 425 pp. Price $1. 

Many a child of God will find in it needed consolation and 
guidance. It cannot fail to do much good. — iV. Y. Chris. Ad. 

The providences related show in the clearest light God's 
care over his people, and his terrible judgments against sin, 
and can scarcely fail to affect the heart, make a lasting im- 
pression on the memory, and exert a salutary influence over 
the life. — Western Christian Advocate. 

The volume maybe read with much profit. — Cecil Democrat. 

It is the most intensely interesting book we ever read. — 
Brownsville Times. 

No minister should be without it ; the array of facts ad- 
duced to support the doctrine of a special Providence appears 
complete. — Eastern Star. 

A highly interesting volume for the general reader; and 
especially interesting for youth. — Cecil Whig. 

It will do much to correct the prevalent lukewarm notions 
about Providence. Here are soul-cheering facts. — Baltimore 
Christian Advocate. 

The record of such providences confirms the view of God's 
special superintendence and care over all His creatures, given 
in His Word. His providences, like His other works, are 
won der ful . — Christian Observer. 

Its illustrations should not fail to convince the reader that 
there is a God of Providence, and that the events of time are 
not the result of blind chance. — Presbyterian. 

The contents of the volume are well selected and well ar- 
ranged. — Allentown Democrat. 

Buy it the first opportunity. It may be worth, under God, 
a thousand times its price to you.—Bev. John F. Wright of 
Cincinnati Conference. 

Sent, post-paid, on receipt of retail price. A liberal discount 
to wholesale purchasers. 



VALUABLE WORKS 



RECENTLY ISSUED. 



A Voice from the Pious Dead of the 
Medical Profeffion ; 

Or, Memoirs of Eminent Physicians "who have fallen asleep in Jesus; vrith 
a Preliminary Dissertation on the Cross as the Key to all Knowledge. 
By Hexky J. Brown, A. M., M. D. Price, 90 cts. 

NOTICES. 

Frcmn Thomas E. Bond, M. D., Editor isrnorant persons." It contains three short 
Christian Advocate & Journal. New York. Dissertations on the subjects of The Cross 
— * * * * * \Te hail with joy the work be- in the Life-Union, The Cross in Nature, 
fore us. The author has done good ser- and The Cross in Medicine: which are fol- 
vice by showing examples of Christian lowed by Memoirs of Wm, Hey. Dr. F' pe, 
belief and practice among the most emi- Dr. Good, Dr. Bateman, Dr. Godmau. Dr. 
nent of the faculty, both in Europe and Gordon, Dr. Broughton, and Dr. Capadose. 
America. We especially recommend this The Dissertations are intended " as an in- 
work to our brethren of the Medical Pro- centive to inquiry suggestive of a form." 
fession. They will find, especially in the The Memoirs are interesting; and fully 
dissertations which precede the Memoirs, prove, what hardly requires proof, that 
a fair exhibition of the peculiar difficulties there is nothing in science which tends to 
which the study and practice of medicine lessen men's faith in the Divine doctrines 
and surgery present to the theory of of the Christian Revelation, or deter them 
Christianity ; and are able and satisfactory from fulfilling all its obligations. Dr. 
solutions of these difficulties. Brown's book will doubtless be read with 

From G. C. M. Roberts. M.D.. Baltimore. — interest by many wbo are not members of 
After having carefully read the book, and the profession, as well as by physicians. 
re- read portions of it, with increased intc- From the Christian Observer, Philadelr 
rest, I take great pleasure in returning phia. — It affords us pleasure to call atten- 
you my sincere thanks for affording me tion to this interesting volume. It con- 
the opportunity, through you, of com- tains an impressive argument lor the truth 
mending it most earnestly to the commu- and excellence of the Gospel, drawn from 
nity at large, and to the members of the the lives of scientific men. It shows that 
Medical Profession in particular. At this faith in the teaching of the Scriptures is 
particular juncture, when strenuous not merely a persuasion, but a power, 
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tion throughout the land, this excellent u-evelopment of all that is pure and lovely 
Memoir of some among the most distin- and of good report in real life. The 
guished physicians, who have died in memorials of these excellent men show 
Christ, appears most opportunely. I trust conclusively, that science and religion are 
you will be successful in placing a copy of not. as a few sciolists have imagined, ra- 
it in the library of every me lical man in compatible with each other. The Preli- 
cur country ; where it will not only prove minary Dissertation is rich in thought, 
the means of spiritual benefit to pre- suggestive, adapted to awaken inquiry on 
eeptors. but likewise to those who may be the most important subject, 
under their supei vision. From the Western Christian Advocate, 
Frr/m the Borion Medical c£ Surgical Cincinnati. — Xo book of a similar charao 
Journal. — This volume is written with a ter is before the American public, and we 
view "to refute a charge of incompati- trust it will find a good sale, not among 
bility between the Christian religion and physicians merely, but among all lovers 
science, sometimes made by wicked and of healthy, religious biography. 

2 



PEKKINPINE & HIGGINS'S PUBLICATIONS. 



From the Pittsburg Christian Advocate. 
—The narrative of the closing scenes in the 
life of Dr. Gordon, of Hull, is of itself 
worth double the price of the book. Medi- 
cal men, whose time is necessarily en- 
grossed with professional engagements, 
will appreciate the aim of the author in 
collecting and condensing more extended 
memoirs of their worthy brothers in simi- 
lar toils; and when they would not take 
up a long and laboured production, they 
can find in this volume that which will 
refresh and strengthen in the midst of 
their unceasing labours. Ministers and 
others, who sometimes wish to testify their 
high appreciation of the faithful services of 
the physician, will recognise in this volume 
a testim onial which cannot but be regarded 
as beautiful, appropriate, and valuable. 

From the Christian Chronicle., Philadel- 
phia. — The object of these pages is to show 
that there is a harmony between religion 
and science. It is decidedly a religious 
book, abounding with the most useful 
lessons from the highest authority. The 
Dissertation that precedes is a valuable 
production, much enhancing the value of 
the work. 



From the National Magazine, New York 
and Cincinnati. — We commend the vo- 
lume to the general reader ; while, in the 
language of the preface, " To medical men 
of every class, these Memoirs come with 
singular force, involving, as they do, the 
modes of thought, the associations, and 
the difficulties common to "the medical 
profession. Their testimony is as the 
united voice of brethren of the same toils, 
proclaiming a heavenly rest to the weary 
pilgrim. It comes, too, unembarrassed 
with any considerations of interest, or 
mere purpose of sect or calling." 

From Rev. J. F. Berg, D, D.— The selec- 
tion of a number of Memoirs of Physi- 
cians eminent for their piety, who have 
adorned their profession in our own coun- 
try and in other lands, as examples of the 
living power of piety, is itself a happy 
thought; and the primary Dissertation on 
the Cross as the Key to all Knowledge 
will suggest valuable reflections to the 
mind of the thoughtful reader. It is an 
able presentation of the great theme of 
the Cross of Christ as the foundation of 
all genuine science. 



The Bible Defended againft the Ob- 
jections of Infidelity. 

Being an Examination of the Scientific, Historical, Chronological, and 
other Scripture Difficulties. By Rev. ^YsI. H. Brisbane. Price, 50 cts. 



not: 

From the Western Christian Advocate. — 
The work is on a plan somewhat original, 
and meets a want long felt by Sabbath 
School Teachers and Scholars, private 
Christians and others. We can most 
heartily commend the little manual to all 
seeking the truth as it is in the Gospel of 
Christ. 

From the Christian Advocate & Journal. 
— The author, in the body of his work, 
commencing with the account of the Cre- 
ation, as given in the book of Genesis, 
goes through the principal facts recorded 
in the Old and New Testaments, stating 
and answering the objections of infidelity 
cogently and logically, bringing to his aid 
the result of extensive reading and patient 
investigation. It is a small book, — so 
small that none will be deterred from 
reading it by its size: yet it condenses the 
most general objections to the Bible, with 
a clear statement of the refutation of 
them, by the best authors who have writ- 
ten on the subject. 

34* 



CES. 

From the National Magazine. — A small 
but good review of the chief infidel objec- 
tions to the Bible has been published by 
Higgins & Perkinpine. It is by Kev. W. 
II. Brisbane, and examines the scientific, 
historical, chronological, and other diffi- 
culties alleged against the Scriptures. It 
is especially adapted to meet the wants of 
Sunday School and Bible Class Teachers. 

From the Eastern Star. — The title page 
indicates the character of this little vo- 
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and whose researches well qualify him to 
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of sceptics. The book contains in a nut- 
shell most of the points of difference bo 

3 



PERKIXPIXE & HIGaiXS'S PUBLICATIONS. 



tween infidels and Christians, and should subjects to -which they relate. We take 

be read by all who experience any diffi- pleasure in commending it to those read- 

culty in reconciling those texts of Scrip- ers who have not the time to investigate 

ture that ■ are in apparent conflict, but heavier works, as a book that will amply 

which accord in beautiful harmony when repay a careful perusal, 
explained by their contexts, and other 



Ledhires on the Dodrine of Election. 

By the Key. A. C. Pvtjtherford, of Greenock, Scotland. 
Price. 50 cts. 



NOTICES 



From the National Magazine. — These 
Lectures are remarkable for logical acute- 
ness and sagacity, and a comprehensive 
knowledge of the subject. There is a 
strong spice of Scottish acerbity, too, in 
their style. Arminian polemics will re- 
ceive this volume as among the ablest 
vindication of their views produced in 
modern times. 

From Rev. Bishop Scott. — I have care- 
fully read through your late publication, 
entitled " Lectures on the Doctrine of 
Election, by Alexander C. Rutherford, of 
Scotland." which you were kind enough 
to put into my hands. I am very much 
pleased with it. It is an admirable book. 
It refutes the Calvinistic theories on this 
subject with, I must think, unanswerable 
force of argument, and unfolds and exhi- 
bits the true Bible theory with clearness 
and power. And, unlike many controver- 
sial works, it is a very readable book. 
The authors style is so clear, so natural, 
so easy and flowing, and withal so ani- 
mated and forcible, and his manner and 
illustrations so interesting and striking, 
that one is led on from page to page, and 
from chapter to chapter, not only without 
weariness, but with increasing interest. 
The spirit of the book, too, I think, is 
excellent, independent, frank, candid, 
affectionate, exhibiting a profound regard 
for the unadulterated teachings of the 
Bible, and a yearning love for souls. The 
author, indeed, sometimes uses harsh 



words, but almost only of theories and 
systems and dogmas — seldom, indeed, of 
persons. He treats his opponents with 
Christian courtesy, occasionally only re- 
buking them sharply, while he deals with 
a fearless and unsparing hand with their 
false and soul-destroying errors. This 
book ought to be sown broadcast over the 
land. I could wish that a copy of it 
should go into every family; especially at 
this time, when there seems a disposition 
in certain quarters to force on us again 
this wretched Calvinistic controversy. 

From Zion's Herald. — The author of 
this work is a Scotch clergj-man, who was 
formerly a Calvinist, but who, by honestly 
seeking the truth as revealed in God's 
Word, was led to embrace the more Scrip- 
tural tenets of the Arminian school. Hav- 
ing first spread his views before the reli- 
gious public at Greenock and Glasgow, iu 
a series of lectures delivered in 1847, he 
afterwards gave them to the world in form 
of a book, which is now, for the first time, 
reprinted in America. Bating some few 
inferior points of doctrine, we think the 
work to be a sound, strong, and vigorous 
expose of the Calvinistic theory. It is 
finely adapted for popular circulation ; 
could it be scattered broadcast, it would 
doubtless aid in extirpating the stubborn 
errors of that theory from such portions 
of the community as are still afflicted by 
its presence. 



The Sunday School Speaker; 

Or, Exercises for Anniversaries and Celebrations: Consisting of Addresses. 
Dialogues, Excitations, Bible Class Lessons, Hymns, <fcc. Adapted to 
the various subjects to which Sabbath School Efforts are directed. By 
Eev. John Kennaday, D. D. Price, 38 cts. 



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A Book of Religious Songs, accompanied with Appropriate Music, Chiefly 
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Price, 38 cts. 

Seled Melodies. 

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generally found in standard Church Hymn Books; as also a number 
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Hunter. Price, 40 cts. 

A Short Poem, 

Containing a Descant on the Universal Plan. By John Peck. Multum in 
Parvo. To which is added 

Univerfalifm a very Ancient Doctrine; 

With some Account of its Author. By Lemuel IIaynes, A. M. 
Price, 6 cts. 

The Calvinistic Doctrine of Predesti- 
nation Examined and Refuted ; 

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Prophecy and the Times ; 

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